Sunday afternoon’s visit by the Philadelphia Union played out as advertised. A contest between two teams that have shined at points in the season. Philadelphia came into MAPFRE Stadium as the current top team in the league and was one win away from clinching the Supporters’ Shield. Although Columbus was no longer at its desired level of performance like during Phase 1 and early through this current Phase 2 of matches, the Black & Gold showed glimpses of that side.
Being healthy was one big piece of the winning formula. The Crew won 2-1 in a match where the team had all starting players available, minus Vito Wormgoor whose ankle injury has kept him out since the first match of the MLS is Back Tournament, back in July.