Crew defeat LAFC 5-1 behind two goals from former LAFC forward Christian Ramirez: Replay
Brianna Mac KayIn what many expected to be a close matchup between the two 2023 MLS Cup final opponents ended up being another game added to the Crew's dominant streak, as Columbus defeated Los Angeles FC 5-1 at BMO Stadium in L.A. on Saturday.
Former LAFC forward Christian Ramirez helped lead the Crew to victory in his home state of California, scoring two of his team's five goals. While going up against the top team in the Western Conference in LAFC, which was riding a 13-game unbeaten streak, the Crew was able to continue outscoring opponents, recording a 20-2 scoring differential in the past five matches.
Ramirez started the scoring in the first half with a header goal off an assist from fellow California native, midfielder Max Arfsten. In the second half, Ramirez put what could have been the finishing touch on the match with another goal to put the Crew ahead 4-0 in the 84th minute of play.
Before Ramirez got on the board a second time, forwards Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi each notched a goal, putting the three at a combined 15 goals in the last five games.
The goals continued following Ramirez's, with LAFC recording their only goal of the match off the shot from Nathan Ordaz, his first ever goal in MLS play. Just minutes later, Crew forward Alex Matan scored his first goal of the season, to put the final at 5-1.
(90+6') Two red cards are handed out in final minutes of Columbus Crew vs LAFC match
Crew forward Marino Hinestroza and LAFC defender Jesus Murillo were given red cards following an altercation in the final minutes of the 5-1 match. Hinestroza was fouled by LAFC forward Eddie Segura, which lead to a tangle up between those two players.
Once Murillo got involved with a push to the back of Hinestroza on the ground, Hinestroza got up and threw a punch, leading to the red card for both players.
(89') Crew forward Alex Matan scores his first goal of the season, Columbus takes 5-1 lead
For the third time in five minutes, the ball found the net in this game, this time for Crew forward Alex Matan to put Columbus' lead back to four goals with a 5-1 advantage.
This is the first time this season that Alex Matan has scored for Columbus, and he scored off an assist from Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe. Nagbe sent a pass to Matan, who took only one touch to send his shot into the back of LAFC's goal.
(85') LAFC gets on the board with a goal from forward Nathan Ordaz
A late goal from forward Nathan Ordaz, his first in his MLS career, kept the Crew from recording their third straight clean sheet in a row. Columbus lead 4-1.
(84') Christian Ramirez scores second goal vs LAFC, Columbus Crew pull ahead 4-0
With a free kick off of LAFC's yellow card violation against defender Sergi Palencia, forward Alex Matan executed the kick that forward Christian Ramirez was able to get a piece of off a header shot, which bounced right into the goal for the Crew's fourth goal of the game.
(83') LAFC goes down a man with defender Sergi Palencia earning red card with second yellow card
LAFC defender Sergi Palencia earned a red card off his second yellow card violation with a foul against forward Alex Matan, putting LAFC down to 10-men for the rest of the match.
(67') LAFC midfielder Ilie Sanchez given yellow card for foul against Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe
Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe took around 30 seconds to get up following a hit from Ilie Sanchez, which earned the LAFC midfielder a yellow card foul. Shortly after the yellow card, LAFC made its first round of substitions:
- Defender Omar Campos for Ryan Hollingshead
- Forward Eddie Segura for Kei Kamara
- Midfielder David Martinez for Erik Duenas
(60') Diego Rossi scores third goal for Columbus, Crew pull ahead 3-0
Former LAFC forward Diego Rossi got in on the scoring for Columbus against LAFC, with a soft shot that hit off the left goal post and boomeranged into the back of the goal, giving the Crew a 3-0 lead.
The play started with midfielder Mo Farsi, who passed the ball to the center of the field where forward Christian Ramirez was standing. Ramirez passed the ball off to striker Cucho Hernandez and Hernandez was quickly able to find Rossi in the box for the scoring opportunity.
(56') Cucho Hernandez puts Columbus Crew ahead 2-0 vs LAFC
Striker Cucho Hernandez scored a long-shot goal from outside LAFC's box to record the second goal of the game against LAFC for the Crew. Hernandez's shot went past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who barely made a move to attempt a save, to the top, left corner of the goal.
(45') Columbus Crew lead 1-0 going into halftime vs LAFC
Beyond leading on the scoreboard 1-0, the Crew were ahead in most stats during the first half against LAFC.
Crew took 10 shots, three on goal compared to LAFC's six shots, one on goal. Columbus also controlled the ball in the first half with 60.2% possession rate.
(41') Sergi Palencia receives first yellow card for LAFC vs Columbus Crew
LAFC defender Sergi Palencia was given a yellow card for a foul against Crew forward Diego Rossi. This is the first yellow card of the match.
(38') Christian Ramirez score vs former club LAFC, Columbus Crew lead 1-0
Crew take a 1-0 lead over LAFC with a header goal from former LAFC forward Christian Ramirez with a shot from the center of the box. Ramirez scored off an assist from midfielder Max Arfsten.
Arfsten became in control of the ball on the left side of the field before giving a pass off the striker Cucho Hernandez. Hernandez took a couple dribbles into coverage and then sent the ball back to Arfsten, who would send a cross into Ramirez in LAFC's box. Ramirez's shot went straight into the top right corner of the goal.
(30') Columbus Crew record x shots in first 30 minutes of play
Crew are leading the game in shot attempts in the first half hour of play, recording nine shots, two on goal compared to LAFC's four shots, one on goal, but the score remains 0-0.
Crew vs LAFC: Patrick Schulte's availability is more important than realized
Schulte's availability was put into question in the leadup to the LAFC game when he was officially selected for the United States men's Olympic roster due to the national team's training game starting earlier this week.
After Crew coach Wilfried Nancy made a phone call to the US U-23 coach Marko Mitrovic about keeping Schulte with the club for one last game before departing for the Olympics, the 23-year-old was able to make the trip to Los Angeles.
"He (Schulte) us an important player for us, and he is an important player also for the national team," Nancy said. "Obviously he wanted Pat earlier, but we have an issue with the goalkeeper."
Read more about Schulte's availability here.
LAFC availability report vs Columbus Crew
Here is LAFC's official availability report:
- Lorenzo Dellavalle (knee): Out
Columbus Crew availability report vs LAFC
Here is the Crew's official availability report:
- Evan Bush (arm): Out
- Jacen Russell-Rowe (international duty): Out
LAFC starting lineup vs Columbus Crew
Here is the starting 11 for LAFC vs Columbus:
- GK: Hugo Lloris
- DF: Maxime Chanot
- DF: Ryan Hollingshead
- DF: Jesus Murillo
- DF: Sergi Palencia
- MF: Eduard Atuesta
- MF: Erik Duenas
- MF: Ilie Sanchez
- FW: Mateusz Bogusz
- FW: Denis Bouanga
- FW: Kei Kamara
Columbus Crew starting lineup vs LAFC
Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs LAFC:
- GK: Patrick Schulte
- DF: Malte Amundsen
- DF: Rudy Camacho
- DF: Steven Moriera
- MF: Max Arfsten
- MF: Mo Farsi
- MF: Darlington Nagbe
- MF: Sean Zawadzki
- FW: Cucho Hernandez
- FW: Christian Ramirez
- FW: Diego Rossi
Who are the referees for Columbus Crew vs LAFC?
Here are the officials for the Crew vs LAFC on Saturday night:
- Referee: Lukasz Szpala
- Assistant Referee 1: Logan Brown
- Assistant Referee 2: Ben Pilgrim
- Fourth Official: Malik Badawi
- VAR: Sorin Stoica
- Assistant VAR: Tom Supple
Columbus Crew overall record vs LAFC
The Crew are 1-3-0 overall against LAFC, with their only victory coming in the 2023 MLS Cup final and are 0-1-0 at BMO Stadium.
How to listen to Columbus Crew vs LAFC radio broadcast
The Crew vs. LAFC English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus' regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.
The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 102.5 FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.
Columbus Crew vs LAFC streaming information
The Crew-LAFC match will be available on Apple TV for free, meaning streaming is available without an MLS Season Pass subscription. Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:
- English broadcast: Keith Costigan (play-by-play), Maurice Edu (analyst)
- Spanish broadcast: Jorge Perez-Navarro (play-by-play), Marcelo Balboa (analyst)
When is the Columbus Crew vs LAFC match?
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m., Saturday, July 13 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.