Reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew enter the Leagues Cup when they host Sporting Kansas City in the Round of 32 on Friday at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
By winning their third league title last December, The Crew earned a bye into the knockout stage of the tournament. Twenty days removed from their last official encounter, the team from the Ohio capital is ready to retake the field.
“I think the break came at a good time to just refresh ourselves,” said Columbus Crew forward Christian Ramirez. “But I know I'm itching to get back out there.”
“In this competition, you've been watching it every day for the last couple of weeks, you see the excitement. You see how intense some of the games get,” Ramirez added. “To be able to witness the group stage for the last couple of weeks, and now to be on the cusp of being able to play in the Round of 32, we're excited.”
The Crew weren’t completely inactive, defeating Premier League club Aston Villa 4-1 in a friendly. Cucho Hernández, who leads the club with 13 MLS goals, continued his form with a first-half hat-trick while summer addition Dylan Chambost added the fourth in the home exhibition.
Runners-up in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, Columbus will look to return to another final in an international tournament. Despite losing the final in Pachuca, The Crew are on a stretch of nine wins in their last 13 official encounters.
“It's a new competition,” said Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy. “We have four games, if I'm counting well, to make the final, like every team. So everything is open.”
Nancy’s team has been one of the best this season in MLS with a 12W-4L-7T record, and a 6W-1L-4T record at home. Cucho Hernández also scored a hat-trick when Columbus last hosted Sporting KC in MLS play on June 22, with Ramirez adding a fourth in the 4-nil win.
“I know that last time we played them, they were very good,” said Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes. “They did to us what we used to do to teams. They were excellent on the ball, creating possession, relentless, going to goal. They're a very good team, and they were in very good form, so I don't expect anything different than that.”
Since that last encounter, SKC has won four of eight encounters across all competitions. That marks their best string of results in 2024 as they seek to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time.
“Obviously that was a tough result,” said Sporting KC defender Jake Davis. “I think all of us, it just kind of lit something up inside of us. And, I think from that point on, we got good results, and we've picked up a lot of momentum.”
