Thursday, Jul 29, 2021

The Crew is two-for-two in 2021 against New York City FC and will look to continue that winning streak on Friday night from Yankee Stadium, as the Black & Gold kickoff against NYCFC at 7:30 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio & 97.1 FM The Fan.

Technically, Columbus has won the last three results vs. New York City FC dating back to last season, with both of the victories in 2021 coming by a 2-1 scoreline. Lucas Zelarayán has scored three of the Crew’s four goals, all on direct free kicks, including the winning goals in both matches. Zelarayán is the first player since Opta began analyzing MLS matches in 2010 to score three direct free-kick goals against a team in a single season.

As for recent results, the Crew extended its overall unbeaten streak to six matches following a 1-0 win at Atlanta United last weekend and will look to win consecutive road matches for the first time since 2019.

Meanwhile, New York City FC equaled the largest winning margin in team history on Sunday, beating Orlando City, 5-0, at Yankee Stadium. NYCFC’s only other five-goal win was a 5-0 home win over FC Cincinnati on April 24.

Valentín Castellanos scored his fifth goal of the season during NYCFC’s 5-0 win over Orlando on Sunday, the third New York City player to hit that mark (Jesús Medina – 7 goals, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi – 6 goals). NYCFC is the only team with three different players with at least five goals this season.

COURTESY COLUMBUS CREW COMMUNICATIONS