Columbus Crew vs NYCFC in Leagues Cup: Live match results, more
With the Crew now moving into the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup, coach Wilfried Nancy hopes the team can advance in the tournament with less stress than Columbus did in the previous round.
The Crew earned the right to compete in the tournament’s quarterfinals, where they will face New York City FC, with a 3-2 win over Inter Miami in the Round of 16. However, they had to overcome a 2-0 deficit to win.
In the first half against Miami, the Crew trailed 1-0 after ten minutes of play and despite Nancy’s halftime speech being “not calm,” Columbus conceded a goal in the 62nd minute from Diego Gomez. It looked like the Crew would lose another game to Miami, who were without their star striker Lionel Messi.
On the sidelines, Nancy desperately worked on a new game plan to cut Miami’s lead, but on the field, Christian Ramirez, one of Columbus’ halftime substitutes, found a way to get past the defense and scored the Crew’s first goal when Nancy wasn’t even looking. Forward Diego Rossi scored another goal and Nancy missed the action again.
Nancy realized at this point that he had to trust the lineup on the field, which paid off when Rossi scored one final goal that put Columbus in the quarterfinals.
“If we don’t respect who we are, we’re average,” Nancy said. “We have to take the initiative. And if we’re like that, it’s difficult for the opponents. But if we don’t, we’re average.”
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The Crew now has to worry about New York City FC potentially knocking them out of the tournament. The two teams have already met this season, when Columbus beat NYCFC 3-2 away in a regular season match in June.
Follow live updates from the Leagues Cup quarter-final match between Crew and NYCFC:
The Crew has an overall record against New York City FC of 11-9-6.
The Crew defeated Sporting Kansas City 4-0 in the round of 32 thanks to two goals from striker Diego Rossi in their first Leagues Cup match. Before the knockout phase, Columbus had a bye into the group stage as 2023 MLS Cup winners.
To advance to the quarterfinals, the Crew had to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final 25 minutes of their match against Inter Miami. Columbus was led by Rossi, who again scored two goals, and striker Christian Ramirez.
New York City FC began the Leagues Cup in Group East 1, facing Queretaro FC of Liga MX in their first match of the tournament. After a goalless draw in regulation time, the team was forced to play on penalties. After a 4-3 penalty shootout win, NYCFC lost 4-2 to FC Cincinnati, leaving New York City in second place in their group.
In the round of 32, NYCFC almost lost to the New England Revolution and had to go to penalties again after the final score was 1-1. After a total of 13 attempts between the two teams, New York City took a 7-6 victory and advanced.
In the round of 16 against Tigres, NYCFC went into halftime with a 1-1 draw, but a second-half goal from Santiago Rodriguez put the club into the quarterfinals.
The Crew started the 2023 Leagues Cup in Group Central 1 with St. Louis City and Club America.
After defeating St. Louis 2-1 in the opening match of the tournament, the Crew faced Club America, one of the top teams in Liga MX, shortly after Columbus announced the transfer of their star midfielder Lucas Zelarayan to Al Fateh of the Saudi Pro League. Hours after the announcement, the Crew claimed a 4-1 victory over Club America.
Columbus entered the knockout phase of the Round of 32 against Minnesota United with home advantage. The two clubs finished regulation time with a 1-1 draw, meaning the game went straight to penalties. After missed shots by Kevin Molino, Steven Moreira and Malte Amundsen, the Crew lost to Minnesota 4-3 in the penalty shootout and were eliminated from the tournament.
The English-language radio broadcast of The Crew vs. New York City will air on Alt 105.7 FM and is available on the iHeartRadio app. Columbus’ regular radio host Chris Doran will be on the call.
The Spanish radio broadcast can be heard on La Grande 102.5 FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares as live commentator.
The Crew-New York City game is available on Apple TV with an MLS Season Pass subscription. Here are the teams broadcasting tonight:
- English broadcast: Jake Zivin (live commentary), Taylor Twellman (analyst)
- Spanish broadcast: Sammy Sadovnik (live commentary), Diego Valeri (analyst)
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m., Saturday, August 17, at Lower.com Field.
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