Wessam Abou Ali Scores Twice as Columbus Crew Beat Atlanta United 3-1 for First Win of 2026

Five games, zero wins, and a lot of nights that felt like they should have ended differently. The Columbus Crew finally got the result to match the performances on Saturday night, and they have Wessam Abou Ali to thank for it.

Abou Ali struck twice within eight minutes of the restart, Max Arfsten added a third, and the Crew beat Atlanta United 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their first win of the season. It was also the first win of Henrik Rydström's tenure as head coach, and the club said the double was Abou Ali's first brace in MLS. Aleksey Miranchuk pulled one back for Atlanta in front of a crowd of 34,130, but Columbus answered within a minute.

A Quiet First Half

For 45 minutes, nobody would have guessed what was coming. Atlanta handed a start to Homegrown midfielder Will Reilly, his season debut per the club, and the opening half was mostly a midfield standoff. Columbus had the better of the early chances, with Diego Rossi forcing Lucas Hoyos into a save on a header in the sixth minute and André Gomes testing him from distance in the 39th. Atlanta's best look came from Steven Alzate in the 34th minute, a long-range strike that Patrick Schulte could not hold, per Atlanta's recap, before the Crew defense cleared the danger. Miguel Almirón sent another effort high and wide from outside the box.

Hoyos made two saves before the break, and the teams went in level. Atlanta had more of the ball. Columbus had more of the ideas.

Abou Ali Flips the Switch

It took three minutes of the second half for that to change. Arfsten swung in a cross and Abou Ali met it with a header that nestled into the bottom left corner. Five minutes later he was at it again, collecting a pass from Dylan Chambost outside the box and blasting a right-footed shot high into the net, well beyond Hoyos. MLS called the Palestine international's second an absolute banger, which undersells it a little.

"Forget about me," Abou Ali said afterward. "I'm just happy for the team, happy to see this energy after the win."

The 60-Second Swing

Atlanta finally woke up around the hour mark. In the 60th minute, Elías Báez's shot was saved by Schulte, Almirón's rebound was saved again, and Miranchuk swept in the second rebound from close range. It was his fourth goal of the season, per both the AP and the club, and for a moment Atlanta had life.

That moment lasted roughly a minute. Straight from the restart, the Crew went back down the field, Andrés Herrera slid a ball across the six-yard box, and Arfsten arrived to finish from close range. It was Arfsten's first goal of the season, and per the AP it was Herrera's first assist after a career-high four last season. More importantly, it killed the comeback before it could even get started. If Atlanta's goal was a jump scare, Columbus' answer was the lights coming back on.

Columbus kept pushing. Hoyos saved from Rudy Camacho and Herrera, and Rossi and Taha Habroune both missed the target. Atlanta's only real look in 11 minutes of stoppage time was a Cooper Sanchez shot that missed the target, and Atlanta said head coach Tata Martino was shown a red card after a sideline incident in stoppage time.

The Standouts

Wessam Abou Ali. Two goals on five shots, one with his head and one from distance. The Crew had been waiting for someone to grab a game by the collar. He did it twice in five minutes. For context, Columbus had scored five goals in their first five matches combined; they scored three in a 13-minute burst here.

Max Arfsten. A goal and an assist, both in the second half, before he was subbed off in the 68th minute.

Dylan Chambost. The assist on the second goal, plus a steady hand in midfield until he came off late.

Lucas Hoyos. Four saves in what the AP said was his fifth league start. Atlanta's keeper kept the margin respectable.

Patrick Schulte. Four saves for Columbus, including the double stop in the 60th minute, even if the third attempt beat him.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Columbus 16, Atlanta 7.
• Shots on target: Columbus 7, Atlanta 4.
• Possession: Atlanta 57.6 percent, which bought them very little.
• Corners: Columbus 8, Atlanta 4.
• Saves: Four apiece for Hoyos and Schulte.

What It Means

Columbus climb to 1-2-3 with five points after going winless in their first five matches. Rydström believes the record undersold his team.

"If you look at those five games before, we could have won easily three or four of them without being, like, really unfair or lost," he said.

On this evidence, it is hard to argue. The Crew head home to host Orlando City on April 12, and captain Sean Zawadzki noted the home crowd is owed something: "Obviously, in the last couple of games at home, we weren't able to score for them."

Atlanta drop to 1-1-4 with four points and have won just once in six league games, a 3-1 home victory over Philadelphia on March 14. They are 1-1-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season, and Saturday's numbers explain why: plenty of the ball, only seven shots. They visit the Chicago Fire next Saturday.

Zawadzki also summed up what changed on Saturday: "I just think the way we played, we found that joy that we had, and I think that was the biggest part, to feel comfortable defensively as well."

The Takeaway

Rydström did not pretend the result was a cure-all, but he did enjoy it.

"It's an amazing feeling," he said. "From that, you can build even more."

Sometimes all a team needs is one night where the shots go in. Columbus got theirs, and Abou Ali looked like a striker who has no intention of stopping now.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by the Columbus Crew (columbuscrew.com); additional details from the AP recap via ESPN, Atlanta United (atlutd.com) and MLSsoccer.com.