LOS ANGELES — Attempting to rid themselves of the nightmares that followed a stifling defeat in the MSL Cup final last year at Columbus, the Los Angeles Football Club only added to their angst on Saturday.
The defending MLS champions walked into BMO Stadium and dominated from the opening whistle, delivering the first defeat for LAFC (13-5-4, 43 points) on its home turf in 2024 and snapping a 16-game unbeaten streak here in all competitions dating back to last season.
After not losing since May 4, LAFC appeared frustrated and rushed against Columbus, which secured its first regular season win in four meetings between the two sides by a score of 5-1.
In fact, the game yielded the only league goals that Columbus (12-3-6, 42 points) has scored against LAFC — sans the pair they netted in the 2-1 championship performance last December.
As with that rainy night in Ohio, LAFC suffered from the start.
The Crew possessed the ball, pressed the ball, and made the game generally miserable for the hottest team in the league over the past two and a half months.
“Aside from the tactics and things we can talk about as a group, just the individual performances were extremely poor,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo, whose group saw its 13-game unbeaten streak come to an ugly end. “I don’t think I can say anybody played to their potential tonight and in games like this, that’s just not going to be enough, regardless of the tactics, regardless of the strength of the other teams. If you don’t show up then you’re not going to win a game.
“Certainly there was some things tonight that can’t ever repeat themselves.”
Neither Denis Bouanga nor Mateusz Bogusz, whose streak of consecutive league games with a goal or an assist ended at 10, made an impact on the game.
When it possessed the ball Columbus was cautious not to allow Bouanga or anyone else to release in transition.
While LAFC’s current attackers were poor, a pair of former ones were not.
Diego Rossi returned to Exposition Park for the first time since the winger left for Turkey in 2021, but it was Christian Ramirez, a native of Garden Grove, who came up big as 35 members of his family watched from the stands.
One of the three alterations to the Columbus starting lineup from the MLS Cup final team, Ramirez split LAFC defenders Maxime Chanot and Ryan Hollingshead deep in the box, freeing him up to drill a header by Hugo Lloris in the 38th minute.
Ramirez’s sixth goal of the season completed an 11-pass buildup, finalized by fellow Californian Max Arfsten’s cross, that provided a strong example of how effective and creative the Crew attack has been under head coach Wilfried Nancy.
“We knew they would come out really hard,” Nancy said. “I’m really proud of my guys because they found a way to stay on task, and have a good competitive spirit, and to get better because it was not easy. The way they did it, they were composed but also really aggressive and this is something that I like.”
After halftime, Columbus poured it on their shell-shocked hosts, whose lineup featured seven changes from the 2023 MLS Cup final.
In the 56th minute, Colombian attacker Cucho Hernandez hit a beautiful curling shot from outside the box for his 12th goal of the year. Hernandez was given far too much space and time before his strike rendered LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris helpless.
At the hour mark, the Crew increased their advantage when Rossi converted in the box off a missed clearance from Eduard Atuesta. Rossi’s 8th goal of the year was his first versus the club that brought him to MLS in 2018, and he did not celebrate.
Immediately after LAFC defender Sergi Palencia was sent off with a second yellow for a hard tackle, Ramirez added his fourth goal in four appearances against his former team in the 84th minute, one night after getting to celebrate his daughter’s fourth birthday.
“I grew so much in my short time here,” said Ramirez, who had stints with LAFC in 2018 and 2019. “It taught me a lot about myself.”
Nathan Ordaz got one back for his first MLS goal when he pounced on a rebound, but Columbus sealed the most lopsided home loss in LAFC history — supplanting a 4-1 result against Sporting Kansas City in 2021 — when Alex Matan scored his first goal of the season in the 89th minute.
“There’s a reason that they won it last year and there’s a reason they’re again fighting for big things this year,” Hollingshead said. “They played well. We gotta take our hats off to them for playing that way. I hope we get to see them again.”
As the contest concluded, LAFC center back Jesus Murillo and Columbus midfielder Marino Hinestroza each received red cards from referee Lukasz Szpala. Palencia and Murillo will be suspended for Wednesday’s game at BMO Stadium against Real Salt Lake, which presents a quick opportunity to bounce back against an important conference foe.
