Columbus eliminates Inter Miami from Leagues Cup in 'war of winners'

"Columbus, I'll say it once again, is the best team in the league," Miami coach Tata Martino said as the two sides prepared to face one another in MLS play in June.

The compliment was genuine, but it became something of an albatross for the MLS Cup champions. Miami beat it 2-1 thanks to a few uncharacteristic Columbus errors, and Martino's insistence on Columbus's greatness in defeat only served to highlight that Miami was greater still.

The two met again on Tuesday night in the knockout stages of the Leagues Cup. Both teams won trophies in 2023 but only one would advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. As the first half stretched on and Columbus failed to find a rhythm, it seemed as if June's nightmare was repeating for the poor Crew. Miami quickly went up 2-0 despite having less than 40 percent of the ball, and Columbus seemed to be floundering.

But Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy made key substitutions at halftime and his team roared back to life. In two minutes, it was level with Miami; in 10, it was beating it handily. By the time the final whistle blew, Columbus had snatched Martino's 'best in league' compliment back for good. Columbus was moving on to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals; Miami was going home.

Columbus defender Mohamed Farsi, who came on at halftime bearing Nancy's plan to change the game, laid out the situation.

"They [Miami] were pressing man-to-man in the first half, so there's a lot of space in behind," Farsi explained . "If we're able to move the ball right, left, we're going to create space."

When facing a man-to-man press, teams often try for long vertical balls to get in behind their opponents. Columbus, though, as Farsi said, wasn't focused on verticality. It knew Miami would be expecting that kind of play and chose horizontal, right-to-left passing instead, catching Miami by surprise and delivering faster results.

That horizontal mindset was how Columbus found its game-tying goal in the 67th minute. Striker Cucho Hernandez looked up the field and realized there was a chance his teammate Diego Rossi could outrun Miami defender Marcelo Weigandt at the far post. Hernandez sent a speculative pass diagonally from the right flank, Rossi charged down the left and the chance became reality.

That's the kind of multilayered thinking that separates Columbus from Miami and its MLS peers. Coach Nancy can make key overarching decisions about the game — like bringing on Farsi, who set Hernandez up for the assist — and his players can turn those decisions into unexpected actions on the field. It makes Columbus both prepared and opportunistic, a combination that becomes nightmarish to defend against in real time.

"They were doing a kind of man-marking, so we played with different animations to try to disrupt the man-marking," Nancy said . "This is so nice to play, this kind of game, because it's not easy and you have to be fresh to have good decision-making. We adjusted a few things, and Tata [Martino] did also. It was a good game."

Columbus and Miami. Old versus new. Team synergy versus individual brilliance. MLS Cup champions versus Leagues Cup champions. It's always exciting when the two meet. But in this circumstance — a tournament knockout game with a stinging Columbus defeat in the rearview mirror — it wasn't just exciting. It was a window into what it takes to win in American soccer: positivity, long-term thinking, excellent on-the-ball decision-making and unshakable belief.

Martino doesn't need to say it again. Columbus is the best team in the league.