Amundsen and Chambost combined to dismantle Toronto FC on Saturday night, the Columbus Crew defender scoring twice and the midfielder threading three assists in a 4-2 win at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Columbus led 2-0 at the break and extended that to four before Toronto pulled two back in the final quarter-hour, making it a nervy finish without ever threatening a comeback. The result lifts the Crew to 38 points in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, two ahead of Toronto in 11th.
Key Moments
- 16′, Tapia opens the scoring, turning home a delivery from Farsi to give Columbus an early lead.
- 21′, Amundsen doubles the advantage, finishing from a Chambost assist to make it 2-0.
- 48′, Amundsen strikes again three minutes into the second half, once more set up by Chambost, to put the game out of reach at 3-0.
- 59′, Lennon, on as a substitute just two minutes earlier, adds a fourth from another Chambost delivery to give Columbus a commanding 4-0 lead.
- 69′, Salloi pulls one back for Toronto shortly after coming off the bench, converting a Corbeanu cross to make it 4-1.
- 70′, Bangoura is shown a straight red card for Columbus, leaving the Crew with ten men for the final 20 minutes.
- 81′, Sargent heads home an Emilio Aristizabal Chavarriaga assist to cut the deficit to 4-2, but it proves too little too late for Toronto.
Tactical Breakdown
Columbus set up in a 4-4-2 and were clinical in the opening 21 minutes, scoring twice from limited opportunities. Their xG of 2.3 on just ten shots tells the story of a team that was efficient rather than dominant in possession, they finished with 47% of the ball compared to Toronto’s 53%. The difference was Chambost, who ran the game from central midfield and picked apart Toronto’s shape with three assists, each delivered with precision from areas around the box.
The key tactical moment came in the 57th minute, when interim head coach Laurent Courtois made a double substitution, bringing on Lennon for Rodriguez and Herrera for Moreira. Lennon took just two minutes to score, immediately justifying the change and extending the lead to four. From that point the game looked over, but Bangoura’s red card on 70 minutes gave Toronto a numerical advantage that they used to apply pressure and score twice through Salloi and Sargent.
Toronto finished with 20 shots and an xG of 2.36, numbers that suggest they were competitive across the 90 minutes but were let down by poor finishing and a costly defensive start. Conceding twice inside 21 minutes from an opponent that had only six shots on goal all game shows how exposed Jason Hernandez’s backline was early on. Gavran made only three saves in goal, with the damage done well before he was asked to work.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
Columbus hold ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 38 points, sitting inside the playoff spots with Toronto two points behind in 11th after playing the same number of games. For Laurent Courtois’s side, Saturday’s performance, particularly the first hour, showed a team capable of turning possession deficits into sharp attacking play when Chambost is at his best. Toronto’s form reads WDWL across their last four games before this, and another defeat at a playoff rival keeps them on the outside looking in with the regular season winding down.