Columbus gives a game away down in Miami – MASSIVE REPORT
The Columbus Crew fell to a Messi-less Inter Miami on Wednesday evening, ending their four-game road win streak in MLS. The Herons struck twice in the first 20 minutes off poor defensive play from Columbus, but the Black & Gold managed to grab a goal back courtesy of Cucho Hernandez before halftime. From there though, the goal search would go dry for the Crew. Columbus generated scoring chances but were unable to slot any more scores past Drake Callender. In a game where they were facing a team missing a lot of their stars, the Black & Gold fell flat on their face.
Wilfried Nancy and his staff changed a few things from the last game, but unfortunately, they did not yield a point to show for it. Let’s dive into those changes.
Columbus’ formational roulette
As we talk about every week, the Crew’s formational fluidity is what makes them so dangerous. Against Miami, Columbus played in a plethora of different shapes on offense in this game, three to be exact.
The first formation Nancy opted to go with was a 4-2-1-3 when the Black & Gold had possession in the opening stages of the match. The back four consisted of Sean Zawadzki and Malte Amundsen playing as dualling center backs, flanked by Steven Moreira on the right and Yaw Yeboah opposite him.
Both Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris stayed as the two defensive midfielders behind a central no. 10. The attacking midfielder role could be filled by either Alexandru Matan or Diego Rossi. The Uruguayan and the Romanian would drop from attacking positions into the midfield to keep the defense guessing.
The front three was rounded out by Cucho Hernandez through the middle, flanked by either Matan or Rossi on the left and Mo Farsi on the right.
There were a couple of nuances in the 4-2-1-3 for the Crew. Morris would cheat out to the left to take up a pivot position between Amundsen and Yeboah. This allowed the Ghanian to go higher into a winger position, maintain the four-back formation, and allow Nagbe to be an option with more space in the middle.
When Morris would do this, either Matan or Rossi would drop deeper alongside Nagbe to shore up the midfield. These positional moves were basically Columbus redistributing different players to try and free up Yeboah down the left side. If Yeboah could expose a defense down the left side, Hernandez would be waiting in the middle to pounce.
Unfortunately for the Black & Gold, Miami struck first, and second. After the first goal went in, the Crew changed its formation immediately to a 3-2-5.
The 3-2-5 was a more traditional look for Columbus. Amundsen, Zawadzki, and Moreira returned to their back-three format, with Yeboah and Farsi pushed high into the attack as wingers. Nagbe and Morris remained where they were, but Rossi and Matan moved next to Hernandez on the inside.
The key to this formation was Matan and Rossi. The Black & Gold tried desperately to play into their feet and then spring either the wingbacks or Hernandez in behind. If the defense took the bait and followed Rossi or Matan deeper, there was space in behind to be found. The wingbacks even dropped back at times to support the defenders as the team built out of the back.
The 3-2-5 did not last long, because Miami would find a second goal which forced the Crew to change again. This time Columbus shifted to a 1-4-5 for an ultra-attacking tactical change.
Zawadzki remained the lone center back, with Nagbe and Morris in front of him in the central part of the pitch. Moreira and Amundsen moved up to join the midfield, both playing as connectors to the wingers. The front five was the same as before, but with the outside center backs turned midfielders and Morris flying forward to make runs in behind.
The Black & Gold would remain in the 1-4-5 for the remainder of the match. They kept probing and prodding at the stout Miami backline but unfortunately were unable to find the equalizer. Even the best teams in MLS cannot afford to take the first 20 minutes of a game off.
Miami’s gameplan
Coming into this game Miami was missing Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to international duty, and David Ruiz and Tomas Aviles due to red card suspension. Because of this, Inter adjusted their tactics to frustrate the Crew and prey on their mistakes. It worked to the tune of three points for the team from South Florida.
Miami opted to shore themselves up in a 5-4-1, an ultra-defensive formation meant to keep Columbus out of the back of the net. They failed at that, but their offensive game plan succeeded well beyond what anyone thought.
Missing those vital players prompted Tata Martino to employ a counter-attacking style of soccer that preyed on the Black & Gold over-extending themselves. Miami would press high, matching a player to each of the Crew’s backline to try and turn the ball over high up the pitch. If that failed, the remaining players would recover and drop deep into a low block in the 5-4-1.
This form of sitting back made it hard for Columbus to break down and get in behind. There seemed to be multiple players for Miami around the ball in their defensive half because they matched the numbers the Black & Gold were sending forward.
Most times, only a single player would remain up top for Miami. If Inter won the ball, they would play up the field into that high player’s feet and then counter with quick wingers such as Robert Taylor and Benjamin Cremaschi.
This blitz tended to catch the Crew off guard because they had to commit so many players forward to try and break down the Miami defense, but that was not their biggest problem. Columbus’ biggest issue all night was dealing with Miami’s high pressure when they decided to do so, and bad turnovers.
Despite the assist later in the game, Morris had an underwhelming showing in the middle of the park. Misplaced passes sprung Miami counterattacks too many times and cost the team desperately. Zawadzki looked out of sorts as well, also bitten by the turnover bug and forced to make tough one-on-one challenges at times.
Miami gave the rest of the league a roadmap on how to possibly beat the Black & Gold no matter what personnel is available. Sit back, be stout defensively, and spring on the counter. It also does not hurt to ramp up the pressure in the Crew’s defensive half to force those turnovers.
This was not entirely a Miami masterclass. Columbus shot themselves in the foot until they were out of bullets in the first 20 minutes. They could not have played worse if they tried. From there, nursing a two-goal lead with a strong defensive gameplan, it was almost as if Miami could not lose.
The Black & Gold gave this game away for lack of a better word, and it is a loss that Nancy will not want to replicate again this season. It has been a good spell on the road for the last month in MLS play, but this loss will sting when the Crew see how they played on tape.
