Farsi opener and Méndez free kick lift Columbus Crew past CF Montréal 2-0 at Stade Saputo

The ball belonged to Montréal, the threat did not

For long stretches, Montréal had the statistical outline of a team that should have produced more. It held the larger share of possession, completed far more passes than Columbus and earned more corners. But the edge disappeared in the one place that decides everything. Patrick Schulte was asked to make only two saves, and Montréal put only two attempts on target all evening.

That helps explain why this result lands as a finishing problem more than a control problem for the home side. Montréal’s general circulation was clean enough, finishing with 450 accurate passes from 506 attempts. The delivery into decisive areas was another matter. The club attempted 15 crosses and completed only two, while the offside count rose to four. The possession was real; the precision on the final action was not.

Eleven minutes that settled everything

Columbus found the first clean strike of the match in the 57th minute, and it came from a sequence that needed no extra decoration. Sean Zawadzki supplied Mohamed Farsi, who hit a right-footed shot from the right side of the box into the bottom-left corner. Farsi needed only one shot all night to change the game, and after a scoreless first stretch, the opener gave Columbus something solid to protect.

The level score lasted only 11 minutes. Méndez doubled the lead in the 68th with a left-footed free kick to the top-left corner, a finish that turned a narrow advantage into a commanding one. It was Columbus’ second goal from its third shot on target, a simple measure of how clinical the Crew were with the chances they did place on frame. Sébastian Breza finished with one save, a respectable line that also shows how little margin Montréal had left itself once it fell behind.

Our take: Columbus won the decisive details

This was not a night when Columbus needed to dominate the ball to dictate the result. The Crew had less possession and only one corner, yet still finished with more shots overall and were sharper at both ends of the field. In front of Schulte, the defensive numbers tell the story of a team that made life manageable for its goalkeeper: 14 interceptions, 19 clearances and five blocked shots. Schulte still had to do his part, but he was not abandoned to wave after wave of clean looks.

The individual contributions fit that pattern. Farsi turned his lone attempt into the opener. Zawadzki left with the assist on the game’s first goal. Méndez delivered the night’s best dead-ball finish, and Santiago Rodríguez added useful involvement even without getting on the scoresheet, drawing six fouls and taking three shots. Columbus did not overwhelm the match with volume. It simply made the meaningful actions count for more.

Montréal’s missing final touch

Montréal’s side of the story is harder to dismiss because so much of the foundation looked serviceable. The passing numbers were strong, and the team spent enough time on the ball to build a platform. The trouble is that too much of the shooting burden settled on Prince Owusu, who accounted for five attempts and put one on target. No teammate managed more than one shot. When one player carries more than half of a team’s attempts and the goalkeeper still sees only two shots on target in total, the attack has not diversified enough to stress a defense repeatedly.

If there is a sensible correction to draw from this match, it starts with timing and delivery rather than panic. Four offsides suggest runs that were a beat off. Two accurate crosses from 15 attempts suggest wide service that did not connect often enough. Those are not cosmetic details; they are the difference between a possession edge that feels promising and one that ends without a goal. Against a Columbus Crew side that was willing to defend, clear and wait for its moments, solid buildup without a sharper last ball was never going to be enough.

Scoring moments

1. Period 2 · 57'

   Mohamed Farsi scored for Columbus Crew in minute 57. The assist went to Sean Zawadzki.

2. Period 2 · 68'

   Brais Méndez scored for Columbus Crew in minute 68.