By Mariana Smithfield
Fresh off Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution, the Columbus Crew is back on the road Saturday night for the teams’s penultimate regular season match – and a meeting with Atlanta United FC.
Match Overview
Who: Columbus Crew at Atlanta United FC
When: Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app
How to Listen: 97.1 HD3/The Fan Stream, La Mega 103.1 FM
Current Standings: Columbus Crew – Fourth in Eastern Conference; Atlanta United FC – Sixth in Eastern Conference
When They Last Met
It feels like there are plenty of “how could we forget?” games, but seriously, how could we forget their last match? On March 25, the Crew battered Atlanta, 6-1, at Lower.com Field. Christian Ramirez had a brace, while Aidan Morris, Philip Quinton, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Max Arfsten also scored. The last time these clubs met at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Columbus won, 2-1, on May 28, 2022. Jonathan Mensah scored in the first minute, while Erik Hurtado added another just before halftime.
Three Things To Know
2 – As stated above, the Crew has two games left in the 2023 regular season. While the Club’s already clinched a spot in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, sides are still jostling to move up the Eastern Conference standings ahead of Decision Day on Oct. 21. Of course, the Crew wants to climb from fourth into third, but Atlanta United sits in sixth. No matter what happens in this match, the Black & Gold will have at least a one-point gap over the Peach State club, but that could grow to seven points if Columbus can earn a second-straight win on the road. “Obviously, I look at the standings now and I want to see the other results, but again, the only thing that we can control is us and what we are going to do on the pitch,” head coach Wilfried Nancy said Wednesday. “For sure, we look at the opponents and to see if they score or not, but again, this is only us, and after that, we do all the mathematics.”
9 – Diego Rossi has been quite the addition to the Crew. Assuming he plays Saturday, the playmaker will make his 10th league appearance of the season. To date, he has three goals and three assists, and he had one of each statistic on Wednesday night at New England. In the first half against the Revs, he slotted the ball home to give Columbus an early lead. Late in the match, his in-swinging corner set up Malte Amundsen for the game winner. Now in his fifth MLS season, Rossi has proven he’s a big-game player. We’ll hopefully see that in the playoffs, but his recent efforts haven’t going unnoticed.
6 – ATLUTD, as mentioned, is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 49 points from 32 games. Atlanta, just like Columbus, is known for being an attacking team that puts the ball in the net. United has 63 goals this season – only one back from the Crew. For context, the Philadelphia Union is third in the conference with 56. The Union actually beat Atlanta, 3-2, on Wednesday night, so the Five Stripes will be looking to regain momentum. Before that loss, the club had a four-game unbeaten run intact.
COURTESY CREW COMMUNICATIONS
