The Columbus Crew had the team’s home opener of the young 2023 MLS campaign against rival D.C. United. Columbus also got to welcome back former midfielder Pedro Santos, who signed with D.C. during the offseason. It was a Crewsmas masterpiece display, as the home side cruised to a 2-0 win.
The first half started off promising, with Columbus on the front foot as they did last week. It didn’t take long for the Crew to strike first however, with Lucas Zelarayan receiving a pass inside the penalty area from Cucho Hernandez. The Armenian midfielder spun around his defender, and slot the ball home in the 10th minute of play to give the Crew a 1-0 lead.