90min
·26 August 2024
90min
·26 August 2024
Columbus Crew are Leagues Cup champions.
The Crew have lifted their second piece of silverware under head coach Wilfried Nancy and look set to capture more trophies in the future should the core group of players stick together.
The Eastern Conference team won the second edition of Leagues Cup that featured all 47 teams from MLS and Liga MX after their 3-1 victory over LAFC with Juan 'Cucho' Hernandez at the double. Columbus looked dominant for most of the tournament, scoring double-digit goals while keeping things in check at the back to lift the Leagues Cup title.
Here is Columbus Crew's Leagues Cup 2024 win: by the numbers.
Nicholas Hagen kept a clean sheet for the Crew / Jason Mowry/GettyImages
The Crew managed to keep one clean sheet during Leagues Cup action: their first match of the tournament in a 4-0 triumph over Sporting Kansas City in the Round of 32.
It was the only clean sheet of the tournament for Columbus as the competition only got more difficult throughout the remainder of Leagues Cup.
Columbus claimed the Leagues Cup title / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nancy's Crew managed to pick up four wins in regulation en route to lifting the trophy at Lower.com Field. In Leagues Cup, if matches are tied after 90 minutes played, then the match is immediately decided by a penalty shootout -- which Columbus managed in the quarter-finals vs NYCFC.
Steven Moreira stood out in defense / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Crew have conceded just 22 goals in MLS action up until this point, and their rigid defense transferred over to Leagues Cup as the team let in just five goals during their march to the title -- with two of the goals coming in the first half of their comeback win over Inter Miami in the Round of 16.
Rossi and Hernandez showed up for Columbus / Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Columbus' duo of Hernandez and Diego Rossi combined to score 10 goals across five games in Leagues Cup. Rossi finished second in total goals scored at the tournament, while Hernandez tallied four himself.
Rossi played his part during Leagues Cup / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Crew's free-flowing style of soccer allowed them to find the back of the 14 times in just five matches against formidable backlines in LAFC, Philadelphia Union and NYCFC. There's no doubt that the Crew would've scored another three or four goals during the group stage had they participated -- they were excused from the opening stage after winning MLS Cup 2023.
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