Three things to watch for as Columbus Crew look to get out of slump against Nashville SC
It's been a difficult month for the Crew, and the final week of May isn't going to be any easier.
Columbus has played five games in the last 19 days and has just two wins to show for it. Most recently, the Crew have suffered back-to-back losses to FC Cincinnati in league play and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the U.S. Open Cup. And beginning Sunday at Nashville SC, they will play three games in seven days to close their busiest stretch of the season.
"When I saw the schedule in the beginning," coach Wilfried Nancy said, "we knew that this period would be difficult for every team. ... This is something that we knew, and this is something that I think we did well, because we had good performances. Not really good performances, because we haven’t won, but good performances to be able to repeat the quality of our game. But we were not good in terms of decision-making in the key moments."
After traveling to TQL Stadium in Cincinnati last Saturday to face the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference standings, the Crew will now face Nashville, the No. 2 team in the East and the best defensive team in MLS. Here are three things to keep an eye on in the game, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Geodis Park.
Can the Crew slow down Mukhtar?
Nancy doesn't typically mention opposing players by name when discussing an upcoming matchup. But he couldn't hide his admiration for Nashville midfielder Hany Mukhtar, the 2022 Golden Boot winner and MLS MVP.
"I like him a lot, Mukhtar," Nancy said. "He’s good with the ball, good without the ball and he’s a creative player. We’re going to have to be good to control that."
Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Mukhtar has been involved in 76 goals — 47 goals and 29 assists — which is 22 more goal contributions than any other player in MLS during that span. Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mukhtar has scored or assisted in 70.4% of the goals Nashville has scored, with a contribution on 50 of the team's last 71 goals.
"The style of play of Nashville is Mukhtar," Nancy said. "Not only him, but I like him. I like him a lot. ... He's a fantastic player. The idea is going to be to focus on the general aspect and within that, we know that we have to be good on the (one-on-one) at certain moments."
Mukhtar has full control of Nashville's attack, whether he's igniting a counter-attack or pulling the strings on a longer sequence of possession. The freedom and flexibility he has to operate all over the field makes him challenging to mark, because it's hard to predict where he's going to be — or what he's going to do when he gets there.
Slowing Mukhtar down will challenge the Crew's defense at every level. If the closest player to Mukhtar can't interrupt him, the next players in the sequence also have to be in the right position to stop him, or Mukhtar will carve the Crew open as he has just about every team he's faced this season.
"I think it’s no different to playing against guys like (New England Revolution midfielder Carles) Gil," midfielder Aidan Morris said. "I think it’s kind of similar. Try to get bodies around them. Try to keep them facing back towards their own goal. I think with those guys, just keeping an eye on them always and trying to limit those sparks of creativity they have."
How will Crew address issues that led to loss in Cincinnati?
FC Cincinnati quickly exposed the Crew's vulnerabilities last Saturday, which includes the fact that Columbus' depth at center back has been challenged. Injuries to Miloš Degenek and Josh Williams have left second-year player Philip Quinton, converted fullback Steven Moreira and Gustavo Vallecilla as the Crew's best options.
The way Nancy sets up his team demands bravery from his center backs, and they lacked that against Cincinnati. Forward Dominique Badji did just about whatever he wanted, particularly in the first half, as he made consistent runs behind the Crew's defense and was a constant threat.
"I had a good discussion with the center backs," Nancy said. "We didn’t change the way we played, because this is the way we want to play, and also this is the way that I believe we can win games. Now, we have to stay on the task. We cannot overthink, and they were overthinking at certain moments. ... They need also to have more belief at certain moments. Be confident. Humble, but be confident. We had a lack of that at certain moments."
Nashville has a similar style of play to Cincinnati, with a willingness to concede possession to its opponent and a desire to strike quickly on the counter-attack.
In Nancy's view, the Crew handled Cincinnati's style well for much of the game, but in the moments where they broke down, Cincinnati was able to take full advantage. Against Nashville, learning from those moments will be crucial for the Crew.
"The fact that we played Cincinnati and the way we conceded the goals, we know that Nashville, they are really good also to play the ball in the channel or to put the ball inside the box as soon as they can," Nancy said. "We’re going to have to be good to stop these kinds of balls, and to be brave also to stop their counter-attack."
Will the Crew bounce back mentally?
Defender Malte Amundsen didn't mince words about the Crew's mentality after losing to the Riverhounds on Wednesday.
"I think we’re all very hungry," Amundsen said. "We have a humble feeling that, OK, we actually just lost to a USL team. We have to go back on the basics and be humble and work very hard to get three points (on Sunday), not one."
The Crew have just one win in their last six MLS games, a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy on May 17. Before that, their last win was April 8 at D.C. United, their lone road victory so far this season. The loss to Pittsburgh in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16 was the latest loss in a string of games where the Crew have not lived up to their expectations.
"I think (Nancy) it says it perfectly, I think it’s an infinite game," Morris said. "I think there’s always things, whether we win 6-0 or we lose 3-2 in the last 10 minutes, there’s always things to grow on and find to work on. Losing these games back-to-back, it brings the most growth out of it. You look at any team that’s had success and I think they have these important setbacks.
"I wouldn’t even say it’s a setback. I think it’s a growth moment. Our head’s still screwed on the way it should be."
Columbus Crew lineup
Record (W-L-T): 5-5-3, 8th in East
Projected Starting XI (3-4-2-1):
Patrick Schulte (goalkeeper); Gustavo Vallecilla (left center back), Philip Quinton (center back), Steven Moreira (right center back); Malte Amundsen (left wingback), Aidan Morris (midfielder), Darlington Nagbe (midfielder), Mo Farsi (right wingback); Alex Mățan (attacking midfielder), Lucas Zelarayán (attacking midfielder); Cucho Hernandez (forward).
Injured: Kevin Molino (questionable, knee), Eloy Room (questionable, knee); Miloš Degenek (out, ankle), Luis Diaz (out, back), Will Sands (out, torn ACL), Josh Williams (out, ankle)
Nashville SC lineup
Record (W-L-T): 7-3-4, 2nd in East
Previous Starting XI (4-4-2 diamond):
Joe Willis (goalkeeper); Daniel Lovitz (left back), Jack Maher (center back), Lukas MacNaughton (center back), Shaq Moore (right back); Dax McCarty (midfielder), Sean Davis (midfielder), Alex Muyl (midfielder), Hany Mukhtar (midfielder); Fafa Picault (forward), Teal Bunbury (forward).
Columbus Crew at Nashville SC prediction
Nashville 2, Columbus 1: Nashville conceded only two goals in its first seven games and has allowed just nine in 14 games this season, the best mark in MLS, but the Crew also have one of the best attacks in MLS with 25 goals in 13 games. Getting on the scoresheet isn't a problem for the Crew, but Nashville is designed to expose the Crew's flaws defensively — and has lost just once at home this season.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew at Nashville SC: Preview, prediction, analysis
