As the Major League Soccer playoffs come to an end, the league has served up an MLS Cup Final for the ages. Potentially.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Columbus Crew, who will host the game courtesy of being the higher seed, and Los Angeles FC each boast distinct, contrasting styles of play that will make for an entertaining, or at least intriguing matchup.
Both have star players to call upon, from familiar names such as Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Vela and Cucho Hernández to other star Designated Players such as Denis Bouanga and Diego Rossi.
Each has players that make them tick, whether that’s the tidy but progressive midfield passing of Darlington Nagbe for Columbus or the left-sided threat of LAFC full-back Diego Palacios.
There is plenty to look out for, and a number of players who will be key to whether their side can assert its gameplan over the other, but two in particular have the potential to win this game for their respective teams.
Here’s a look at the two teams, and those two players, ahead of Saturday night’s final.
The Teams
Columbus Crew
Within a league such as MLS, occasionally you get a team that stands out even beyond its domestic competition. One whose style and tactics can be compared on a more global level.
Columbus Crew is one such team.
A lot of this is down to its head coach, Wilfried Nancy, who promotes a possession-based style of football that concentrates on the playing style, the development of players within that style, and entertainment for fans and participants alike.
The idea being that when those things combine effectively, results will come. A run to the MLS Cup final is certainly justification for those methods.
Columbus has not been the best team in MLS in 2023, that title goes to Supporters’ Shield winners and fellow Ohioans, FC Cincinnati, but they have been arguably the most entertaining, and now they have the chance to win the MLS Cup.
Asked before the Eastern Conference final against Cincinnati if he’d go with style or substance, Nancy said: “Both! We play like that because we believe it’s the best chance for us to win the game.”
The apparent downside of this style is that Columbus regularly leak goals, though only really on the road.
They have conceded 38 goals in 20 away games across the MLS regular season and playoffs in 2023 compared to 16 goals conceded in 19 games at home.
Having the MLS Cup final at their place is already a bonus.
Los Angeles FC
LAFC have not been as fluent or as slick as they were during the 2022 season when winning both the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS Cup.
Last year, that double success put LAFC up with some of the best teams to have ever played in MLS.
This year, it looked like the club might further confirm that and rise further in the pantheon of all-time MLS teams when they reached the Concacaf Champions League final. But they lost the two-legged final to the Mexican side Club León.
Then, a stodgy midseason prevented LAFC from challenging to defend the Supporters’ Shield.
They eventually finished third in the Western Conference and eighth in the overall standings.
The playoffs offered a chance to confirm last year’s success was not a flash in the pan, though, and here are LAFC once again in the final, looking to defend the other trophy they won in 2022.
Steve Cherundolo’s side created the most ‘big chances’ in MLS in 2023, level with the team that took their Supporters’ Shield crown, FC Cincinnati.
However, no team missed more big chances than LAFC.
It suggests some wastefulness in front of goal and some poor finishing but also hints that if the team were to start converting chances more regularly, it would quickly rise to the top once again.
This is its chance to do so.
The Players
Denis Bouanga
17 of LAFC’s big chances missed were missed by Denis Bouanga, who still ended up claiming the MLS Golden Boot in 2023 with 20 goals in the regular season.
A promising sign for LAFC heading onto the final is that, throughout the year, Bouanga has been even more impressive in knockout matches, scoring freely.
As mentioned in the Conference semifinals roundup, Bouanga has 17 goals in 13 starts across the Concacaf Champions League, Leagues Cup, and MLS playoffs.
Playing as an inside forward from the left, driving infield towards goal onto his stronger right foot, the Gabon international is LAFC’s biggest attacking threat, especially on the counter-attack.
He could have had plenty more goals in the regular season than the 20 he scored, and his direct attacking play also leads to chances for others.
This final could well turn into a shootout between Bouanga and Columbus’s own standout attacker…
Cucho Hernández
Cucho is up there with Bouanga for several attacking metrics and only has four goals fewer than the LAFC man across the regular season and playoffs.
In terms of goals and assists combined he is only two behind Bouanga, on 28, and leads the way in most shooting-related stats.
Cucho tops MLS (including playoff games) for xG, xG on target, shots per 90, and shots on target per 90.
He averages 6.4 shots per 90 minutes to Bouanga’s 4.8, but both are some way ahead of the rest in MLS in this regard, so there could be plenty of goalmouth action in this final.
Playing more centrally than Bouanga, the 24-year-old Colombian can be creative in a more traditional sense depending on the flow of the team’s attack.
He assisted the winner for substitute Cristian Ramirez in extra time of the conference final, and Nancy has a decision to make on whether to pair the two attackers or use Ramirez’s impact off the bench.
He also has a decision to make on whether to start right wing-back Julian Gressel, who along with Ramirez changed the outlook of that conference final as Columbus came back from 2-0 down against Cincinnati to win 3-2.
Decent problems to have.
A Clash of Styles
Columbus Crew tops MLS for average possession per game, and LAFC tops the league for successful tackles per match.
This is far from the whole story of how these teams play the game, but it’s a start, and gives some initial insight into the differences between them.
The tackling stat doesn’t mean LAFC are a defensive team, but rather one that likes to pounce on the opposition via pressing before launching attacks.
Both teams average 5.5 shots on target per match, the joint-highest in MLS, but they tend to get to that point in different ways.
Columbus is the more considered, though not laboured, possession-based side, while LAFC goes more direct and likes to counter-attack.
LAFC’s directness can come via some extended passing moves, they are not necessarily a long-ball team, using its compact 4-3-3 shape to move the ball quickly to the forwards.
Columbus usually operates out of a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1, but when talking about his tactics Nancy once said: “I’m not talking about 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 3-4-3; this is not that.
“This is all about the ideas behind that, what concept we’re going to use to manipulate the opposition, what concept we’re going to use to try to win the ball back.”
As hinted here, Columbus likes to press, too, so there’s a good chance this game could be pretty frantic and intense as both teams look to do their thing.
They also like to send a centre-back into midfield on occasion during build-up play, often the right-sided of the three, Steven Moreira, which might be something to look out for depending on how ambitious they are feeling.
The styles contrast but each may suit the other’s game plan as LAFC absorbs pressure before initiating a press-and-counter, while Columbus are likely to have plenty of chances to make their possession game work, revelling in the risk posed by the LAFC press, but mostly in the potential reward if it manages to traverse it.
It’s not confidential that this final’s got potential, as two of the most distinguished teams in MLS battle for the supremacy of their style, and ultimately for the cup.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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