Columbus Crew vs LAFC score, result, highlights as Cucho Hernandez leads Crew to 2023 MLS Cup title

Kyle Bonn

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Columbus Crew vs LAFC score, result, highlights as Cucho Hernandez leads Crew to 2023 MLS Cup title image

An utterly dominant first half saw the Columbus Crew storm to the 2023 MLS Cup title as they beat defending champions LAFC 2-1 at Lower.com Field in the Ohio rain.

The hosts overwhelmed LAFC from the opening whistle, completely smothering the visitors over the first 45 minutes in all facets of the game. Cucho Hernandez opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a handball on Jesus Murillo, while Yaw Yeboah scored the Crew’s second five minutes later.

After the break, LAFC managed to build themselves into the game and get their record-setting front line on the ball, and Denis Bouanga brought the defending champs back within one by scoring in the 74th minute.

Yet that was all LAFC could muster, as they ran out of time while looking to pour forward in desperation. As the full-time whistle blew, the Columbus Crew became the third MLS team to win the league title at least three times in club history, following the LA Galaxy and D.C. United. Yeboah, Darlington Nagbe, and Steven Moreira was all sensational throughout the match in a total team effort, while Hernandez was named MVP of the match.

LAFC, meanwhile, fall short of becoming the first team in a decade to win back-to-back league titles, despite Bouanga equaling teammate Carlos Vela's record with his 38th goal of the calendar year.

The Sporting News followed the 2023 MLS Cup final between Columbus Crew and LAFC live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.

2023 MLS Cup final final score

  Score Goal scorers
Columbus Crew 2 C. Hernandez (32', pen),
Yeboah (37')
LAFC 1 Bouanga (74')

Kickoff: 4:10 p.m. ET / 1:10 p.m. PT
Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
Referee: Armando Villarreal

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Starting lineups:

Columbus Crew (3-4-3, right to left): 28. Schulte (GK) — 31. Moreira, 4. Camacho, 18. Amundsen — 23. Farsi (Gressel, 85'), 6. Nagbe (Zawdzki, 83'), 8. Morris, 14. Yeboah (Cheberko, 83') — 20. Matan, 9. C. Hernandez (C. Ramirez, 85'), 10. Rossi (Molino, 90').

LAFC (4-3-3, right to left): 16. Crepeau (GK) — 24. Hollingshead, 3. Murillo, 14. Chiellini, 12. Palacios (M. Gonzalez, 85') — 11. Tillman (Bogusz, 60'), 6. I. Sanchez (Palencia, 86'), 23. Acosta (Krastev, 77') — 25. Olivera, 10. Vela, 99. Bouanga.

2023 MLS Cup final live updates, highlights, commentary

Postmatch commentary, highlights, and notes

There's been significant speculation that 39-year-old LAFC defender Giorgio Chiellini may retire after this match. He was all smiles at the full-time whistle, able to congratulate the Columbus players on their hard-fought title. It especially meant a lot to young midfielder Aiden Morris, who was appreciative of the gesture from the legendary Italian.

Morris, 22 years old, became the second-youngest player in MLS history to start and win his first two MLS Cups behind just Landon Donovan (there's that man again!).

Columbus Crew captain Darlington Nagbe overflowed with emotion as he won the fourth MLS Cup title of his illustrious career. He becomes the ninth player in league history to reach that mark, a group led by the legendary Landon Donovan who won six league championships.

He gets to lead the Crew in their trophy celebrations as they lift the 2023 MLS Cup!

Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, who becomes the first black coach to win the MLS Cup title, showed plenty of emotion at the full-time whistle, telling the broadcast crew that "we started and I told them 'impossible is an opinion, and we're gonna go,' and this is what happened. It's unbelievable." What a quote!

FULLTIME: Columbus Crew 2-1 LAFC

It's over! The Columbus Crew are MLS Cup champions for the third time in club history, becoming just the third club to win the league title at least three times!

On the flip side, LAFC become the first team in MLS history to lose three finals in the same season, having also lost in the CONCACAF Champions League final and the Campeones Cup final.

Columbus Crew vs LAFC: Second Half

90+2 min: The Columbus Crew want a penalty on one of two consecutive plays but the referee waves the action on! First, Christian Ramirez is bodied up by Jesus Murillo trailing the play, and it looks to be a foul, but it's outside the penalty area so VAR can't intervene. Then new addition Kevin Molino is dispossessed by fellow substitute Sergi Palencia but there's not really enough contact to draw what would be a massive penalty call.

In the aftermath, Aiden Morris is booked for fouling Filip Krastev.

88th min: Chance, Columbus! A feed down the left catches LAFC completely off guard, as they seemed to be screaming at the referee about something. Diego Rossi, however, misjudges the path of the ball and fluffs his shot. That could have slammed the door on this match!

The final change for Columbus sees Diego Rossi withdrawn in favor of Kevin Molino. Wilfried Nancy has gone all in on winning in regulation. If LAFC find a goal and force extra-time, the Crew would be without most of their best performers in this match. Seven minutes of stoppage time are shown.

85th min: Cucho Hernandez draws a foul on Diego Palacios which sees the latter booked for grabbing the Crew attacker by the shoulder. Another pair of Crew substitutions sees Julian Gressel replace Mohamed Farci while Christian Ramirez comes on for Cucho Hernandez.

LAFC responds by replacing Diego Palacios and Ilie Sanchez with Mario Gonzalez and Sergi Palencia.

82nd min: Yaw Yeboah, who's been sensational all match, is down in the LAFC penalty area after being bodied on a free-kick by a Columbus defender. There's a half-hearted penalty shout from the hosts, but the referee isn't having it. The LAFC defenders, meanwhile, are really upset with something as well, seemingly the perceived time-wasting by Columbus. Giorgio Chiellini has an animated discussion with the referee as Yeboah limps off in some pain.

The Crew bring on a pair of substitutions, with Yeboah and Darlington Nagbe withdrawn in favor of Evgen Cheberko and Sean Zawadzki. Yeboah and Nagbe were both exceptional, making that decision a questionable one from Wilfried Nancy.

77th min: Patrick Schulte is cleared to re-enter the pitch by the concussion doctor, much to the pleasure of the home crowd. Meanwhile, the LAFC substitutions are largely withdrawn as Steve Cherundolo changes course, instead just bringing on Filip Krastev for Kellyn Acosta.

74th min: GOAL! LAFC! GAME ON! Jesus Murillo does brilliantly to charge ahead, steaming forward on the ball into the penalty area. His cutback to the penalty area is behind Carlos Vela, but it falls to an unmarked Denis Bouanga at the far post. He has his point-blank effort saved by Patrick Schulte, but the ball falls right back to him and he taps the ball in from a tight angle right on the post.

Patrick Schulte is down and receiving treatment, as it looked like the initial Bouanga shot blasted him straight in the jaw. The independent physician employed by MLS is checking Schulte for a concussion, which results in a very long stoppage of play.

71st min: Denis Bouanga cuts to the end line and serves a brilliant fizzed cross that slices straight through the legs of Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, but there's no LAFC player to meet the ball. Incredibly close but nobody pounced.

Steve Cherundolo can sense the tide turning, and looks to bring on reinforcements. Three players enter, as Nathan Ordaz, Filip Krastev, and Sergi Palencia all head to the touchline.

67th min: Now Ilie Sanchez is shown a yellow card for fouling Darlington Nagbe. It's a very soft foul but the booking is for persistent infringement more than anything. Nagbe, meanwhile, has been fantastic today in midfield along with fellow standout Aiden Morris.

62nd min: Chance, LAFC! A free-kick play off the training ground sees Carlos Vela play the ball soft and vertically, which opens up a cutback to Denis Bouanga. The MLS Golden Boot winner takes the bouncing ball and rips a shot with a scissor kick which blasts over the crossbar!

The chance came off a foul by Malte Amundsen, who is is the first Columbus Crew player into the referee's book after fouling Vela.

59th min: Oh my goodness, Timothy Tillman is already on a yellow card, and after losing possession he goes in through the back of Diego Rossi, but the referee isn't drawn to give another booking, despite being surrounded by multiple Crew players. Replay shows it was a naughty tackle but he did get some of the ball and it wasn't particularly dangerous in any way, so the call does make sense.

Almost immediately, Timothy Tillman is yanked by Steve Cherundolo who isn't taking any risks and brings on Mateusz Bogusz.

57th min: LAFC have their first shot on target as Carlos Vela gets on a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and rifles a right-footed volley on goal. Vela is leaning away from goal, and the shot is placed right at Patrick Schulte who makes the simple save into the bread basket.

55th min: Chance, LAFC! Cristian Olivera is clean through on goal but Malte Amundsen makes a gorgeous last-gasp tackle from behind to dispossess the LAFC man! The flag then goes up on the play, meaning any goal scored there wouldn't have counted, and the replay confirms that Darlington Nagbe's step on the pass from Denis Bouanga did play Olivera off. Still, that's a brilliant last-gasp tackle from the Danish defender!

53rd min: Now Timothy Tillman is booked for fouling Darlington Nagbe on the halfway line. The tension in this match is starting to rise, as LAFC's second-half approach from Steve Cherundolo seems to be do all the same things but with even more chaos. It's not really working.

49th min: Chance, Columbus! Carlos Vela scythes Cucho Hernandez to the ground with a horrible tackle, but the referee plays advantage and the hosts nearly get free on goal, as Yaw Yeboah tried to chip the goalkeeper, with only a goal-line clearance keeping his looped effort out!

Vela is then shown a yellow card, which is very generous after going in two-footed on Cucho's shin and sending the Crew forward dramatically rolling around. Referees have sent players off for much less.

47th min: Chance, Columbus! The hosts pick up where they left off in the first half and LAFC just barely survive! Aiden Morris powerfully wins the ball high up the field, and a cross from Cucho Hernandez down the right is barely cut out and cleared with attackers in place to poke it home.

Kickoff: We're under way for the second half in Columbus, shockingly with no changes from either team personnel-wise. LAFC were down 2-0 at halftime to FC Cincinnati and turned it around to win 3-2. They'll need to engineer another comeback here, after being swallowed up through the first 45 minutes.

On the flip side, this is a familiar position for the Columbus Crew, leading the MLS Cup final by multiple goals at halftime. Can they repeat their 2020 result and lift the cup?

HALFTIME: Columbus Crew 2-0 LAFC

There's no other way to describe those first 45 minutes than completely, utterly dominant by the Columbus Crew. They controlled 71 percent possession, and out-passed LAFC by nearly a 3-1 margin, including 174-40 in the opposition half.

Until the final play of the half, Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela had been totally silent, finishing the half with a combined 37 touches, one shot, and 11 completed passes. FOX analyst Stu Holden says at the end of the half that he expects Steve Cherundolo to make a host of changes after the break, and that wouldn't be surprising, because whatever's going on right now isn't working.

Columbus Crew vs LAFC: First Half

45+3 min: Chance, LAFC! The visitors nearly found themselves a lifeline in the final seconds of the first half! Denis Bouanga finally gets forward on the ball after being totally nullified all half, and Diego Palacios's cutback to the top of the six-yard box takes an enormous deflection off Rudy Camacho and skids agonizingly wide of the far post!

44th min: Goodness gracious. In a perfect encapsulation of how much the Crew have controlled every single aspect of this game, goalkeeper Patrick Schulte blasts the ball up field into the path of a racing Diego Rossi who gets so far upfield on the delivery that he needs just one touch to win a corner. Truly astonishing how the hosts have LAFC completely on their heels.

37th min: GOAL! COLUMBUS CREW! The hosts are absolutely flying as Yaw Yeboah makes it 2-0 to the Crew! The Ghana international sneaks in behind Ryan Hollingshead down the left and Malte Amundsen delivers an absolutely exquisite threaded through-ball up the gut. Yeboah latches on, clean through on goal, and cuts it past a charging Maxime Crepeau!

36th min: The rain first starts to pick up gradually, and then the skies open up. It's an absolute downpour in Columbus right now as LAFC look for a lifeline, having been fully dominated in the opening half-hour of this match.

31st min: PENALTY, COLUMBUS! The waves and waves of pressure finally pay off, and the referee points to the spot after the ball pops up and deflects off the arm of Diego Palacios! It's a tight call, but his arm is outstretched at a 90-degree angle, and as he comes flying in, Diego Rossi clips the ball up catching him first in the shoulder area and then off his hand.

Cucho Hernandez steps up to take the chance, and...GOAL! COLUMBUS CREW! Hernandez sends Maxime Crepeau the wrong way to open the scoring, on a fully deserved goal!

27th min: Yaw Yeboah absolutely could have won a penalty as he nutmegged Ryan Hollingshead in the penalty area and then skipped over the bamboozled defender's leg. You never want to encourage players to simulate fouls, but in this case, he easily could have taken the contact and won a very legitimate penalty. A missed opportunity after a wonderful move.

Then Diego Rossi gets into a similar position as Cucho Hernandez did minutes ago, but this time slightly closer, just inside the top of the penalty area. He decides to shoot for the near post instead of the far, and rips it a bit wide. That was close-ish, but not quite the same flash on goal that his teammate had earlier. The fans were fooled for a moment, thinking the shot went in as it struck the side netting.

23rd min: Chance, Columbus Crew! Oh my goodness Cucho Hernandez nearly scored a stunner to send the Lower.com Field fans into euphoria! He lets it rip from well outside the box and comes exceedingly close to burying the ball inside the far post. Maxime Crepeau gave it a full stretch dive but there was a small window of opportunity.

22nd min: Diego Rossi takes Columbus's second corner of the match short, and it's wasted immediately, rolling out for a goal kick. The Crew have completely dominated this game so far, just lacking a quality chance on net. If they make good on this pressure and find the back of the net, Lower.com Field might register on the Richter scale, it feels like the home fans are just waiting to absolutely blow the top off the place.

16th min: The Columbus Crew continue to hold the majority of the meaningful possession, but still can't trouble Maxime Crepeau's goal. Steven Moreira's header from deep doesn't come close to the frame of goal.

10th min: What a block by Giorgio Chiellini! The 39-year-old launches his body feet-first towards his own end line to stop a cross from Cucho Hernandez, who had Diego Rossi streaking on goal down the middle.

8th min: In the aftermath of the game's first corner, the Columbus Crew have poured numbers forward and are pummeling the LAFC back line with pressure. They still haven't managed to produce a shot on Maxime Crepeau's goal, but this is heavy early pressure.

There's an early penalty shout as Mohamed Farsi goes launching to the turf just inside the left edge of the area but the referee isn't interested in penalizing Jesus Murillo.

4th min: LAFC left-back Diego Palacios gets away with a transitional foul as he chops down Diego Rossi on the counter through midfield. That is usually a clear yellow card but referee Armando Villarreal decides not to show a booking this early. Palacios is lucky to get away with having to navigate nearly the entire match on a yellow.

3rd min: The LAFC away fans were noticeably quiet for the first two minutes of the game, presumably in protest to their recent sanctions from Major League Soccer. They cannon into full voice as it hits the two-minute mark.

On the other end, the Columbus Crew had a pre-match tifo that took clear aim at their MLS Cup final opponents, who only joined the league in 2018.

Kickoff: They're under way at Lower.com Field in Columbus! 90 minutes (or 120 maybe?) to decide the 2023 Major League Soccer champion!

It's misting in Ohio at kickoff, with some light precipitation making the conditions quite cold and slick.

Columbus Crew vs LAFC: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

5 minutes to kickoff: One more interesting storyline for this match: this could potentially be the final match of Giorgio Chiellini's illustrious career. He was asked about it in pregame by FOX reporter Jenny Taft, but deflected the question saying "the future is now." Will he retire at the end of it all? We'll have to wait to find out!

15 mins to kickoff: Columbus Crew fans have given their team bus the requisite serenade fitting of an MLS finalist! The match is soon to kick off, with the official start time listed as 4:10 p.m. ET.

30 mins to kickoff: Finally we have lineup news. Columbus Crew have named an unchanged XI as head coach Wilfried Nancy decides to leave Mohamed Farsi in at right wing-back, selected over the in-form Julian Gressel.

For LAFC, it's also an unchanged starting lineup from Steve Cherundolo from their win over the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference finals. Two largely healthy teams with strong consistency from a lineup perspective.

45 mins to kickoff: While LAFC prepare to play for a league title, they may have just been upstaged in the Los Angeles sports news cycle as Shohei Ohtani announces he has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for an eye-watering $700 million over 10 years. Sorry, LA soccer fans! This one might push LAFC a bit further back in the market regardless of how today plays out.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly hands out the largest guaranteed contract in the history of major North American professional sports.

1 hour to kickoff: Lineups are expected imminently, we'll bring you them as soon as they are released. With an hour to go, LAFC supporters are doing well to make their presence known as their team contests the 2023 final on the road.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Another fascinating storyline today is the return of Diego Rossi against his former club LAFC. Rossi joined the west-coast side in January of 2018 from Uruguayan club Penarol and played four seasons with LAFC, scoring 50 goals and assisting 19 more in 106 league games for them before leaving midseason to join Turkish club Fenerbahce.

It didn't quite work out for Rossi overseas, but he has been instrumental in the Crew's second-half push to the final, joining in late August and bagging 11 goal contributions in 15 matches, including three goals and three assists in the playoffs. Today he has a chance to redeem his departure from his old club, who will be equally motivated to ensure he regrets ever leaving Los Angeles.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: One of this match's best stories is LAFC goalkeeper Makime Crepeau, who returns to the MLS Cup final one year removed from his awful leg fracture in this very match. Crepeau went down in last year's final against the Philadelphia Union deep in stoppage time, forcing John McCarthy onto the field in a pressure situation.

Crepeau returned in August, and has retaken the starting spot from McCarthy. This will be a big, emotional moment for the Canadian international.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: The two fanbases have engaged in a chant-off in downtown Columbus before the match, as they passed each other on Nationwide Blvd! Glad things remained civil, but this appears to be a tense atmosphere nonetheless!

2 hours to kickoff: Today's epic match is here! Many are hoping for an electric final much like last year's, which saw LAFC triumph in a six-goal thriller. Yet some will be afraid that the match could get cagey as many finals often do.

You can get a full preview of today's game by clicking here, with picks, predictions, and tips!

Columbus Crew vs LAFC lineups, team news

The only injury concern for Columbus head coach Wilfried Nancy is the ACL tear suffered by Will Sands back in April. Otherwise, the Crew squad is entirely fit for duty.

Julian Gressel could have come into the starting lineup at right wing-back, but Nancy decides to stick with Mohamed Farsi in a lineup that looks just as it did in the dramatic Eastern Conference Final win over FC Cincinnati. Diego Rossi takes on his former club LAFC, who he left two years ago for a move to Turkish side Fenerbahce. He has five goals and six assists since returning to MLS this summer.

Columbus Crew starting lineup (3-4-3): Schulte (GK) — Moreira, Camacho, Amundsen — Gressel, Nagbe, Morris, Yeboah — Matan, C. Hernandez, Rossi.

Columbus Crew subs (9): Bush (GK), Zawadzki, Arfsten, Medranda, Cheberko, Gressel, Molino, Russell-Rowe, C. Ramirez.

LAFC, amazingly, are at essentially full health for the MLS Cup final, which is quite a luxury to have on the road.

Maxime Crepeau has reestablished himself as the first-choice goalkeeper since returning from his serious leg fracture, supplanting John McCarthy back in mid-September. Crepeau has kept three clean sheets in the playoffs, on a stretch of seven straight halves of play without conceding a goal.

LAFC starting lineup (4-3-3): Crepeau (GK) — Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palacios — Tillman, I. Sanchez, Acosta — Olivera, Vela, Bouanga.

LAFC subs (9): McCarthy (GK), Palencia, Maldonado, Long, Krastev, Biuk, Ordaz, Bogusz, M. Gonzalez.

How to watch 2023 MLS Cup final

  TV channel Streaming
USA FOX, FOX Deportes (Spanish) Fubo USA, Apple TV (MLS Season Pass), Fox Sports app/website
Canada TSN3, TSN4, RDS 2 (French) Fubo Canada, Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)

The 2023 MLS Cup final will be shown in the United States on the FOX main network channel, while a Spanish-language broadcast is available on Fox Deportes. Both channels are available to stream on Fubo. 

In Canada, the match will be shown on both TSN3 and TSN4, which can be streamed on Fubo Canada. A broadcast in French is also available on RDS 2.

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2023 MLS Cup final betting odds, lines

  Columbus
win (90 mins)		 Draw LAFC win
(90 mins)		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
2.5 goals		 COL win
the Cup		 LAFC win
the Cup
DraftKings
(USA)		 +115 +230 +220 -155 / +125 -125 / -110 -155 +125

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.