Cucho Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah both found the back of the net in the opening half, securing a 2-1 victory for the Columbus Crew against LAFC on Saturday and earning their third MLS Cup title.
In 2008 and 2020, The Crew won the championship by defeating the New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders respectively. However, they were unsuccessful in the 2015 title game against the Portland Timbers.
The LA Galaxy (five) and DC United (four) are the only teams with more championship wins.
The city of Los Angeles aimed to be the fourth team in the MLS to achieve back-to-back victories.
Hernandez found the back of the net in the 33rd minute, followed by Yeboah’s goal in the 37th. LAFC’s Denis Bouanga scored in the 74th minute.
Hernandez put Columbus up 1-0 on a penalty kick. He deposited the ball in the lower left corner for his fifth goal in six playoff matches this season. He is nine for nine from the spot in all competitions in his Crew career.
Diego Palacios, a defender for LAFC, was called for a handball with his right arm at the edge of the box, resulting in a penalty being awarded.
This was the initial goal permitted by LAFC in four consecutive matches.
Yeboah extended the lead for the Crew, who were the top scoring team in MLS during the regular season. He received a pass from Malte Amundsen on the left side after 11 passes were made in the build-up.
Yeboah advanced towards the goal box and skillfully maneuvered past goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, ultimately landing a successful shot.
Ignore the advertisement for the newsletter.
after newsletter promotion
In the first half, Columbus dominated possession with 68.2% and also had a 5-1 lead in corners.
The goal for the team in the latter half was to prevent a repeat of what happened to FC Cincinnati the previous week in the Eastern Conference championship. In that game, Columbus rallied from being down by two goals in the last 15 minutes of regular time and ultimately won 3-2 in overtime.
Bouanga scored the second goal, taking advantage of his own rebound after Schulte saved the ball at the post on the left side. With 20 goals, Bouanga has been the top scorer in the MLS and has a total of 38 goals in 49 games across all competitions this season.
The Crew did not make it to the playoffs in the last two seasons. However, they recently hired coach Wilfried Nancy from CF Montreal.
Source: theguardian.com
