D.C. United are set to play their fourth match of the 2021 Major League Soccer Regular Season against Columbus Crew SC on Saturday, May 8 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST. D.C. United will look to rebound from two tough losses as they take on the 2020 MLS Cup Champions in another difficult test on the road. Hernán Losada and the team will need to be defensively astute to limit Columbus' attacking opportunities. The Black-and-Red will also be eager to continue creating dangerous attacking chances and converting that offensive pressure into goals.
In their previous match, D.C. United lost 4-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, May 1, despite outshooting the Earthquakes 17-12. Tony Alfaro scored his first career MLS goal in the 31st minute when he smashed home United’s lone goal from a well-weighted chested pass from Yamil Asad. United conceded three first half goals in the 1st, 26th, and 43rd minutes and were unable to recover despite holding a majority of possession and creating more dangerous chances throughout the match. After pushing for a goal in the second half, San Jose added a fourth goal against the run of play in the 85th minute to seal their 4-1 win.
Saturday afternoon’s matchup will be the 72nd time these two original MLS teams face each other. D.C. United have a 31-29-11 record all-time against Columbus but only boast an 8-19-7 record against them on the road. The last time these two teams played, D.C. United won 1-0 at Audi Field on October 28, 2020. Julian Gressel scored the lone goal for United in the 32nd minute and Bill Hamid kept his 70th career MLS Regular Season clean sheet, the most in club history. The Black-and-Red will look to have similar success against the Crew on Saturday.
D.C. United against Columbus Crew SC on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington and TeleXitos and can be streamed on www.dcunited.com.
