The Columbus Crew opened the 2025 campaign with a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Fire on a frosty Saturday evening in the Arena District. 

Coming into the season opener, many wondered where the scoring production would come from given the departure of Cucho Hernandez who contributed to 72 goals in 70 appearances during his tenure with the Crew. Furthermore, fans didn’t get much news about how the team looked in its preseason contests as the games were played behind closed doors. Saturday’s opener was the first chance for many to get eyes on the 2025 version of the Columbus Crew and what might lie ahead this season.

Let’s talk about what we learned from Saturday’s win.

The defense needs help

It was a rough start to the game for the Black & Gold backline as the Fire and former Crew boss Gregg Berhalter made it apparent they wanted to attack down the left side. Chicago frequently targeted Steven Moreira, making life unbearable in the opening half hour when the Fire struck for its two goals. The Crew defender was so out of sorts as he could be seen bumping into fellow center-back Yevhen Cherberko, setting up a pick-play of sorts, freeing up enough space for Brian Gutierrez to bag a brace in the opening half-hour.

The Crew overcame its hiccups in the opening moment to settle in and limited the damage to just two goals. However, looking at the lineup for Matchday 1 it was alarming to see the Black and Gold did not have a dedicated center back on the bench. Columbus made several short-term agreements to bring up several Crew 2 players to fill out the matchday roster. If another injury were to occur or a red card, it could have left the Crew scrambling to find options to cover. Hopefully, reinforcements are on the way to assist.

Every goal won’t be pretty

Fans of the Black & Gold will look back on the time that Cucho spent in Columbus fondly as the Columbian striker scored some world-class goals. While it still remains to be seen who will fill the vacancy left by the former Columbus No. 9, it seems that Columbus has adopted a more gritty mindset when it comes to their offensive product.

Look no further than Jacen Russell-Rowe’s goal in the 20th minute.

Columbus was rewarded with its relentless pressure against the Fire backline with its opening tally and again when the Black & Gold forced an own goal in the 38th minute. Both are goals that aren’t beautiful to look at but count just the same on the scoresheet. It’s likely that the moniker of “America’s Hardest Working Team” will return as the Crew will continue to generate goals from a collective effort, forcing the opposition into bad plays and capitalizing on those errors.

As Diego Rossi goes, so goes the Crew

The Crew playmaker now stands alone as the last remaining member of the “big three” up front. It’s easy to forget that the Urayguayan added 12 goals and 11 assists last season. Rossi has a chance to shine as the guy up front until at least the summer transfer window and potentially beyond.

Don’t forget, that he captured the Golden Boot during the 2020 MLS Season, so he can be “the guy.” Expect to see Rossi be a swiss army knife up front, not only scoring but setting up his teammates for success as well.