It feels like we’ve seen this show before. Columbus Crew hosted LAFC’s MLS Cup Final just nine months ago. At the end of the night, the Crew emerged victorious and were crowned MLS Champions after a 2-1 victory over LAFC. The MLS Cup Final win made it three more titles for Columbus in three years and the Crew’s second MLS Cup championship in the same time period. Before the season began, the entire league had marked the July 13, 2024 clash between LAFC and Columbus on the calendar and touted it as a heavyweight prizefight. The Original Black & Gold left LA feeling good after dominating LAFC and winning 5-1, handing LAFC their first home loss in a long time and their second straight loss to Columbus.

Just a few weeks after that win over LAFC, the annual League’s Cup tournament began. Because Columbus won the MLS Cup, they received a bye straight into the Round of 32, giving them a little more time to recover from a grueling first half of the season. Meanwhile, LAFC had to fight tooth and nail throughout the tournament. The semifinals came and went, and the final was set: LAFC versus Columbus. Both teams secured a spot in the next season. CONCACAF Champions Cup by winning the prestigious semi-final. Now there was more at stake, not just a birth in Champions Cup, But by winning the League Cup tournament, the winner automatically receives a bye to the round of 16 of the tournament and can also boast about their success for a year.

In the days leading up to the League Cup final, all the Black & Gold players heard was LA saying they wanted The Crew to be the favorites and that this was a revenge game. They also kept hearing LAFC head coach Steve Cherundelo’s comments after the MLS Cup finals. And The Crew took them up on that offer and showed them why they were the favorites.

Once again, all eyes were on the city of Columbus as the Crew hosted LAFC for another final match, this time as part of the League Cup tournament.

And so it began. LA’s game plan is to use precise counters and physicality. On the other hand, the Crew’s game plan is to maintain their style and respect the opponent.

The first half started fast and both teams kept up the pace. That was until the 10th-15th minute when Columbus finally slowed down the game. Columbus finally started to attack Hugo Lloris in the 22nd minute and didn’t stop after that. Max Arfsten missed his attempt just to the left of the goal. Just a few minutes later Max tried again, this time the shot was blocked and Columbus got a corner kick. At the ensuing corner kick, Crew captain Darlington-Nagbe took a shot from his sweet spot and sent it just past Lloris’ left. Less than a minute later and Cucho Hernandez sent a shot to the left of Lloris. In the 42nd minute Diego Rossi had a promising shot but it was saved by Lloris. In the 45th minute, Columbus finally pulled off an alley-oop play. Midfielder Sean Zawadzki took the ball to the corner and to the byline before finding the unmarked Mo Farsi. Farsi then used his cheek to get past a defender to play a gentle cross and set up the onrushing Cucho, who emphatically slammed his header into the net to give Columbus a 1-0 lead just before halftime.

We’ve seen this show before. Columbus goes into the locker room with a 1-0 lead and full of momentum. There was only one substitution at halftime, and that was LAFC. He already had a yellow card and the game was heating up. The first Atuesta was subbed out and replaced by O’Brien.

The second half began and LAFC began to put more pressure on the Crew, forcing Columbus to play into LA’s hands. In the 57th minute, LA took advantage of Columbus’ tactical change to a defensive formation. Mateusz Bogusz lifted the cross for Oliver Giroud, who responded to Columbus’ header with a header of his own, tying the score at 1-1.

Columbus and head coach Wilfried Nancy quickly went back into attack mode and changed the tactical formation again. If you’re a Crew fan, you absolutely dread seeing Kei Kamara come into the game late in tied games. In the 78th minute, Giroud was subbed out and LAFC’s bullish weapon Kei Kamra came into the game. Kei Kamra, who has played in the league for years and is known for his headers late in games, came into the game to hopefully surprise the Crew. However, Columbus had other plans.

As the game approached the 90th minute and Wilfried Nancy The Crew brought fresh legs and were determined to win the game in regular time and avoid penalties. In the 92nd minute, Cucho sent the cross into a furious Jacen Russell Rowe. However, when Russell-Rowe realised he would not arrive in time to convert his header, he stopped and watched as Cucho’s cross went past Lloris to give Columbus a 2-1 lead with two minutes left in stoppage time.

Just two minutes later, in the 94th minute, Columbus attacked again, but this time from their own half. The attack began with Malte Amundsen who played a game of popcorn by hitting the ball with his head Diego Rossi and Rossi heads in return into the open space for Cucho. And then it started. Cucho stormed through the middle with the ball and Jacen Russell-Rowe stormed on the right and only one defender was behind, so the crew went on the counterattack. The LA defender had to make a split-second decision: approach Cucho and hope for the best or defend in the middle. The defender guessed wrong. As the defender came closer, Cucho Hernandez got the fadeaway pass to a streaking Jacen Russell Rowe. After going down following the fadeaway pass, Cucho sat and watched as Russell-Rowe completed the attack by burying the ball past Lloris into the bottom left corner to seal the win and give Columbus a 3-1 lead.

The whistle blew and the game ended with Columbus winning 3-1 and winning the League Cup for the first time in the club’s history. Just like last December, the Crew ended the night celebrating a championship title after defeating LAFC in a final match again. In a nine-month period, Columbus is 3-0 and has defeated LAFC 10-3. In 42 games in all competitions under Wilfried NancyThe Crew have only lost two home games so far. With the League Cup coming to an end, both teams are now turning their attention back to the regular season and preparing for the final quarter of the season and the playoffs.

The Columbus Crew are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Philadelphia to face the Union.