Columbus Crew has won the championship of the US soccer league Major League Soccer (MLS) for the third time after 2008 and 2020. Head coach Wilfried Nancy’s team won the final against Los Angeles FC 2-1 (2-0).
The team from Los Angeles, coached by former Hanover player Steven Cherundolo, missed out on becoming the fourth team in MLS history to defend their title.
Cucho Hernandez (33rd minute) with a penalty and Yaw Yeboah (37th) scored within four minutes for Columbus in the first half, Denis Bouanga only managed the next goal for Los Angeles in the 74th minute.
For Columbus, German-born midfielder Julian Gressel came on as a substitute in the 85th minute. The 29-year-old moved to the USA in 2013 and attended college, and made his debut for the US national team at the beginning of this year. For Gressel it is the second US championship after 2018.
Midfielder Timothy Tillman (24) was in the starting line-up for Los Angeles. The former German youth international moved to the USA this summer from second division club SpVgg Greuther Fürth.