Both sides traded chances throughout the evening, but Columbus Crew SC wound up cruising to a 3-0 victory over Chicago Fire FC at MAPFRE Stadium on Thursday, courtesy of a first-half goal from Derrick Etienne Jr, a screamer from Darlington Nagbe and a late insurance tally from Gyasi Zardes.
After a back-and-forth start, Columbus found the opener in the 20th minute, when Milton Valenzuela found Etienne unmarked in the penalty box, allowing the midfielder to slot home a cheeky finish past Chicago goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
Chicago had a pair of near-misses in the first half, first at the end of a 17th-minute counterattack that ended with Przemyslaw Frankowski putting his shot just wide of the far post. Ignacio Aliseda also nearly found the equalizer with a deflected shot in the 35th minute that trickled wide.
The Crew had a golden opportunity to double the lead on the stroke of halftime when Luis Diaz made a charging run into the box and was brought down from behind by Miguel Navarro, drawing a penalty kick whistle from referee Guido Gonzales Jr. But Zardes would sky the attempt from the spot, keeping it 1-0.
The match stayed open into the second half, with Nagbe slamming the door in the 81st minute with an absolutely perfectly hit, highlight-reel golazo from distance past Shuttleworth, before Zardes added some late insurance with a tap-in finish in the 88th.
Goals
- 20' - CLB - Derrick Etienne Jr. | WATCH
- 81' - CLB - Darlington Nagbe | WATCH
- 88' - CLB - Gyasi Zardes | WATCH
Three Things
THE BIG PICTURE:
Columbus endured a disappointing exit from the MLS is Back Tournament after a torrid start, but they're now unbeaten in six straight matches in league play to start 2020 and look primed to remain a force in the Eastern Conference.
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Nagbe's game isn't about scoring lots of goals, but we simply can't say enough about that finish from the longtime MLS stalwart, and he was also his usual rock-solid, tempo-dictating self in the midfield.
Up Next
- CLB: Monday, August 24 vs. NYCFC (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; DAZN in Canada)
- CHI: Tuesday, August 25 vs. FC Cincinnati (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+; DAZN in Canada)