Diego Rossi and Dániel Gazdag Lift Columbus Crew Past LA Galaxy 2-1 for First Home Win of the Season

The weather made Columbus wait for kickoff on Wednesday night. Then the Crew made their fans wait one more slow, nervy stretch at the end. Neither delay changed the result: the first home win of the season finally landed at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

The Columbus Crew beat the LA Galaxy 2-1, with Dániel Gazdag scoring in the 40th minute and Diego Rossi doubling the lead 63 seconds after halftime. Gabriel Pec pulled one back for LA in the 86th minute and hit the crossbar three minutes later, but the Crew held on for a win that had been a long time coming at home.

Columbus Set the Tempo Early

From the opening whistle, this looked like a team that had been hearing about progress in training and wanted to show it. Max Arfsten forced JT Marcinkowski into a save in the seventh minute. Rossi had three looks by the half hour, missing wide from the left side of the box in the 16th, over the bar from distance in the 22nd and high again in the 30th.

The Galaxy had their own problems. Julián Aude went off injured in the 22nd minute, with John Nelson coming on, and LA struggled to play through the Columbus press, as Vanney admitted afterward.

The opener came in the 40th minute. Hugo Picard slid a low cross in from the left, and Gazdag finished from the middle of the box. The club says it was Gazdag's first goal of the campaign and Picard's first assist in MLS.

Gazdag sounded like a man exhaling. "I was just trying to get myself ready to score when I got the chance, and I'm happy that it happened finally," he said.

Eight minutes of first-half stoppage time produced a Pec yellow card and not much else, and Columbus went in 1-0 up.

Rossi Wastes No Time

If the Galaxy had any halftime plan, it lasted about a minute. Rossi slipped Arfsten down the right, Arfsten drove into the box and cut it back, and Rossi took the pass across his body to open up the angle before finishing with his left foot. The club counted it at 63 seconds into the half, and it was Rossi's fourth goal of 2026.

Columbus could have had more. Dylan Chambost forced Marcinkowski into a stop in the top left corner in the 52nd minute, and Steven Moreira and Picard both fired over from distance.

Greg Vanney went to his bench in the 62nd minute, bringing on Joseph Paintsil, Harbor Miller and Emiro Garcés. It took a while, but the changes eventually woke LA up. In the 86th minute, Garcés carried the ball deep before feeding Paintsil, whose through ball sent Pec into the box. The Brazilian beat Schulte with his first touch, into the bottom right corner.

Three minutes later Pec nearly made it 2-2, smashing a left-footed effort off the bar. In stoppage time, his final shot was blocked. Columbus survived.

Players Who Mattered

Diego Rossi led all players with six shots and scored the goal that gave Columbus breathing room. He came off in the 88th minute to a well-earned rest.

Dániel Gazdag finally got on the board with a tidy finish on two shots. After what he called a rough two months, this one clearly meant a lot.

Max Arfsten assisted Rossi, put a shot on target and was a constant outlet on the right.

Gabriel Pec was LA's whole attack: five shots, one goal, one crossbar and one yellow card. LA's notes say it was his first MLS goal of the campaign and his seventh across all competitions.

Joseph Paintsil came on in the 62nd minute and still produced the assist. Vanney said he changes the speed of LA's attack, which is a polite way of saying LA looked flat before he came on.

Turning Point: The 47th Minute

A 1-0 halftime lead is fragile against a team with Marco Reus and Pec. A 2-0 lead a minute into the second half is a different conversation. Rossi's goal let Columbus play with a cushion and pick their moments.

Henrik Rydström saw it the same way. "Of course, the second goal gives you a little bit more calmness and we could play with confidence," the Columbus coach said. "I also liked how we played in big parts of the game. Really happy with the performance."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Columbus 14, LA 7. On target it was 4 to 1.
• Possession: Columbus had 56.1 percent and completed 576 passes to LA's 426.
• Saves: Marcinkowski made two. Patrick Schulte did not have to make any; LA's only shot on target was the goal.
• Fouls: Columbus committed 13 to LA's five, the price of pressing high all night.
• Interceptions: Columbus had 14, LA 13, in a game played at a frantic pace through midfield.

What It Means

The win moves Columbus to 2-3-4 with nine points, and it was their first win in four home games this season, after a draw with Chicago, a loss to Nashville and a draw with Orlando. The Crew host Philadelphia on Saturday, which happens to be Gazdag's old club.

Rydström loved the scene almost as much as the result. "First of all, I must say I was impressed that it was people still here and it was that loud," he said.

LA are also 2-3-4 with nine points. Their club noted that Pec's goal stretched the Galaxy's scoring streak to 18 consecutive matches, the longest active run in MLS, but this loss ended a run of three straight results on the road. Vanney did not dress it up. "It was simple, they were moving faster around the field than we were," he said, adding later, "We were reactive instead of anticipating." The Galaxy return home Sunday to face Real Salt Lake.

The Closing Take

Columbus spent the first two months of the season playing like a band that sounds great in rehearsal and keeps missing the big show. On Wednesday, after a weather delay, in front of the fans who stuck around, they finally hit the right notes at home. Rydström has been talking about progress for weeks. This was the first night it came with a home crowd singing along.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by ColumbusCrew.com and LAGalaxy.com.