Wilfried Nancy described Columbus Crew's Hell is Real victory over FC Cincinnati as "unbelievable", but urged his players to build on that result. 

Nancy watched on as two goals in five minutes from Pavel Bucha and Evander had Cincinnati in control, but they went into half-time level thanks to Diego Rossi and Max Arfsten. 

And Columbus carried on that momentum after the break as they sealed all three points through a Miles Robinson own-goal and a fine finish from substitute Taha Habroune. 

Their win kept them fourth in the Eastern Conference, two points adrift of leaders Philadelphia Union, with Nancy impressed with the resilience shown by his team. 

"This is a good example of where we got beat in the beginning, and we fought, and we fought, and after that, the fans were with us, and they had emotion, and we gave them emotion," Nancy said.

"At the end, the connection, that's why we do this job. Yes, we won, but the performance was also unbelievable. I think that the fans are really proud of us, and this is the most important.

"This is a good feeling obviously for the players because, again, they are so strong mentally. We try to challenge them all the time that the difference between greatness and being good is that mental aspect.

“If we're able to do it consistently, it can be really interesting. I'm happy for the fans, I'm happy for the club, and I'm happy for the players."

The Crew take on fellow high-flyers Nashville SC next in the MLS, with B.J. Callaghan's team seeing their 12-match unbeaten league run ended by the magic of Lionel Messi last time out. 

Inter Miami rode out 2-1 winners, with Messi netting a brace for a fifth successive MLS fixture, though Hany Mukhtar had levelled the game four minutes after the restart. 

Nashville are level on points with Columbus in the Eastern Conference but one place ahead because of their superior goal difference after 22 matches of their campaign. 

And while Callaghan was disappointed to see Nashville's streak come to an end, he was focused on the bigger picture moving forward. 

"When we started the season, we didn't talk about winning streaks," Callaghan told reporters shortly after their defeat at the Chase Stadium.

"We talked about wanting to establish ourselves, our style of play, how we play and how we act on and off the field. 

"We want to make the MLS playoffs and compete for trophies. Throughout this period of time, we've been able to put ourselves in the opportunity to achieve those objectives."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Nashville – Hany Mukhtar

Mukhtar scored Nashville's only goal in their defeat to Miami last time out, bringing up his 15th goal involvement (10 goals, five assists) this season.

Either the German (five) or the MLS's joint-leading goalscorer, Sam Surridge (10), have scored Nashville's last 15 regular-season goals, with the last player other than the duo to score for the club being Patrick Yazbek against the New York Red Bulls on May 14.

Columbus Crew – Daniel Gazdag

Gazdag has recorded just five goal involvements (two goals, three assists) in 20 MLS appearances this season, but he will be hoping to change that against Nashville.

He has enjoyed fixtures against the Coyotes, netting six regular-season goals against them, more than any other MLS opponent. Indeed, no player has scored as many goals against Nashville since the club joined the competition in 2020.

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

Nashville are unbeaten in three all-time home matches against the Crew (W1 D2). In fact, the only road win in the 10 all-time meetings between the sides was a 1-0 victory for the Coyotes in Columbus in 2022.

Callaghan's side are also unbeaten in nine straight home matches in all competitions (W7 D2), having not lost at GEODIS Park since March. They are looking for the third double-digit home unbeaten run in club history and the first since a 10-match stretch between April and July 2023.

But Columbus are a team in form, winning four of their last five matches (D1) following a 4-2 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday. The Crew have scored in 13 straight matches but have also conceded at least once in 12 of those.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Nashville – 33.7%

Draw – 25.7%

Columbus Crew – 40.6%