Diego Rossi records hat trick, Columbus Crew survive Atlanta United's comeback: Replay

Story by

Story by
Diego Rossi records hat trick, Columbus Crew survive Atlanta United's comeback: Replay

Brianna Mac Kay, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Sat, Sep 13, 2025 ·

9 min read

About Our Ads

The Crew scored a season-high five goals in a matter of 40 minutes, which proved to be enough to secure a 5-4 road victory over Atlanta United on Sept. 13.

Forward Diego Rossi accounted for three of the five goals, recording his first hat trick with the Crew. Prior to Rossi, former Crew forward Alex Matan scored the last hat trick for Columbus in October of last season.

Rossi scored in the 13th minute after continuing an attacking play that looked to be over, and quickly scored his second four minutes later. At the 39-minute mark, Rossi recorded one final goal from directly in front of Atlanta 's goal before being taken out of the game ahead of halftime.

Another first occurred during the first half when striker Wessam Abou Ali recorded a goal in the 25th minute, marking his first since arriving in Columbus in August.

Sep 13, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Columbus Crew midfielder Daniel Gazdag (8), forward Wessam Abou Ali (9), and forward Diego Rossi (10) celebrate a goal against the Atlanta United during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Midfielder Andres Herrera finished the game with two assists and a goal which he connected on before Rossi scored his third.

Going into first-half stoppage time, the Crew held a 5-0 advantage. Atlanta scored on a penalty kick three minutes into stoppage time.

To start the second half, the Crew's advantage was cut to 5-3 when they conceded two goals within four minutes.

The Crew held on to win the game despite Atlanta forward Jamal Thiare adding a last-minute goal at the right before second-half stoppage time.

The Crew took just seven shots while Atlanta finished with 17 shots.

Columbus is back on the road on Sept. 17 to face New York City FC .

(89') Atlanta United scores late-game goal vs Columbus Crew

Forward Jamal Thiare scored his second goal of he game with a header at the goal line, making the Crew's advantage to just one goal going into the final minutes of play.

Score:Crew 5-4

(83') Columbus Crew make additional substitutions

Crew made two more substitutions, with midfielder Tristan Brown replacing Max Arfsten and forward Taha Habroune replacing Daniel Gazdag .

Score:Crew 5-3

(80') Ibrahim Aliyu called offside, goal overturned

Crew forward Ibrahim Aliyu attempted to boost the lead back to three goals and looked to have scored near Atlanta's right goalpost, but was quickly called offside.

Score:Crew 5-3

(76') Atlanta United shown first yellow card of matchup

Atlanta defender Steven Alzate was shown the first yellow card of the game for a foul against Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe .

Score:Crew 5-3

(68') Columbus Crew striker Wessam Abou Ali substituted out vs Atlanta United

Crew striker Wessam Abou Ali was replaced by forward Ibrahim Aliyu with the team's second substitution of the game.

Score:Crew 5-3

(50') Atlanta United continues chipping into Columbus Crew advantage

The Crew had their lead cut to two goals when Atlanta forward Jamal Thiare found his team's third goal of the night. Thiago 's shot went past goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and defender Yevhen Cheberko before finding the back-left corner of the goal.

Score:Crew 5-3

(46') Atlanta United opens second half with goal, cuts into Columbus Crew lead

Less than a minute into the second half, Atlanta defender Pedro Amador scored with a header in front of the Crew's goal off a lob pass from midfielder Miguel Almiron.

Score:Crew 5-2

(45+3') Atlanta United awarded penalty kick, scores first goal vs Columbus Crew

Crew defender Yevhen Cheberko was called for a foul inside his own box, giving Atlanta a penalty kick in which midfielder Miguel Almiron sent past Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

Score:Crew 5-1

(42') Diego Rossi leaves lineup vs Atlanta United

Shortly after securing a hat trick, Crew forward Diego Rossi was replaced in the lineup by midfielder Hugo Picard.

Rossi was seen pulling at his right hamstring in the seconds before scoring his third goal, and eventually needed medical attention on the field. Rossi walked off the field on his own after being checked out by medical staff for a few minutes.

Score:Crew 5-0

(39') Diego Rossi records hat trick before halftime vs Atlanta United

Crew forward Diego Rossi scored his third goal of the game before halftime, giving Columbus a 5-0 advantage against Atlanta.

From the right sideline of Atlanta's box, midfielder Andres Herrera found Rossi in a position to create a one-touch shot from directly in front of the goal.

Score:Crew 5-0

(31') Columbus Crew take four-goal lead vs Atlanta United

Midfielder Andres Herrera put the Crew ahead 4-0 in the first half by creating a run inside Atlanta's box and converting a shot from multiple feet ahead of the right goalpost.

The goal was confirmed after a VAR review determined there was no offside violation.

Score:Crew 4-0

(25') Wessam Abou Ali scores first goal with Columbus Crew

In his third game since joining the Crew this summer, striker Wessam Abou Ali scored his first goal with Columbus off a shot from the middle of Atlanta's box.

Abou Ali was sent a pass from midfielder Andres Herrera, which he turned into a right-footed shot that found the back-left corner of Atlanta's goal.

Score:Crew 3-0

(17') Diego Rossi scores second goal vs Atlanta United

After scoring the first goal of the game four minutes earlier, Crew forward Diego Rossi extended the lead with his second, this one coming off a cross from forward Daniel Gazdag.

The offensive push started with a turnover from Atlanta near midfield that Rossi capitalized on to create a run with the numbers in the Crew's favor. Rossi sent the ball to midfielder Max Arfsten, who dished a pass to Gazdag which set up the Gazdag-Rossi connection.

Score:Crew 2-0

(13') Diego Rossi gives Columbus Crew early advantage vs Atlanta United

Forward Diego Rossi salvaged the Crew's attack inside Atlanta's box after striker Wessam Abou Ali was tripped up by goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert while making a run with the ball.

Hibbert attempted to send the ball out of the box, but Rossi regained possession for the Crew and scored on the open goal.

Score:Crew 1-0

(11') Andres Herrera called offside on goal vs Atlanta United

Crew midfielder Andres Herrera looked to have scored the first goal of the game off a pass from midfielder Max Arfsten, but was called offside during his run to the right goalpost prior to recieving the ball.

Score:0-0

(7') Columbus Crew fails to capitalize on first corner kick vs Atlanta United

Forward Diego Rossi executed the first corner kick of the game for the Crew, sending the ball to midfielder Dylan Chambost , who headed a pass to the far side of Atlanta's box.

Forward Daniel Gazdag attempted to gain control of the ball, but was beaten out by an Atlanta midfielder Steven Alzate.

Score:0-0

Darlington Nagbe returns vs Atlanta United

Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe is in the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a torso injury against Liga MX's Club Leon on Aug. 5, which sidelined Nagbe for three games.

Crew midfielder Mo Farsi is still out with a pelvic injury despite being considered "day-to-day" by coach Wilfried Nancy earlier in the week. Defender Sean Zawadzki is also sidelined for the next three to six weeks due to a knee injury he suffered while at the United States men's national camp.

More: How Patrick Schulte's new mentality could be key for Columbus Crew in final stretch

Atlanta United starting lineup vs Columbus Crew

Here is the starting 11 for Atlanta vs Columbus:

GK: Jayden Hibbert
DF: Pedro Amador
DF: Stian Gregersen
DF: Ronald Hernandez
DF: Enea Mihaj
MF: Miguel Almiron
MF: Steven Alzate
MF: Tristan Muyumba
FW: Luke Brennan
FW: Saba Lobjanidze
FW: Jamal Thiare

Columbus Crew starting lineup vs Atlanta United

Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs Atlanta:

GK: Patrick Schulte
DF: Malte Amundsen
DF: Yevhen Cheberko
DF: Steven Moreira
MF: Max Arfsten
MF: Dylan Chambost
MF: Andres Herrera
MF: Darlington Nagbe
FW: Wessam Abou Ali
FW: Daniel Gazdag
FW: Diego Rossi

Who are the referees for Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United?

Here are the officials for the Crew vs Atlanta tonight:

Referee: Jon Freemon

Assistant Referee 1: Kyle Atkins

Assistant Referee 2: Tyler Wyrostek

Fourth Official: Timothy Ford

VAR: Sorin Stoica

Assistant VAR: Craig Lowry

Where do Columbus Crew, Atlanta United rank in Eastern Conference standings?

The Crew (12-6-10) sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, while Atlanta (5-12-11) enters the matchup out of a playoff spot in ninth.

Here are the top five teams in the MLS Eastern Conference:

Philadelphia Union (17-6-6: 57 points)
FC Cincinnati (16-9-4: 52 points)
Charlotte FC (16-11-2: 50 points)
Nashville SC (15-9-5: 50 points)
Orlando City SC (13-7-8: 47 points)

How to listen to Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United radio broadcast

The Crew vs. Atlanta English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus' regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.

The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 103.1 FM and the La Grande radio app, with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.

Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United streaming information

The Crew-Atlanta match will be streaming on Apple TV, with a required MLS Season Pass subscription.

Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:

English broadcast: Callum Williams (play-by-play), Calen Carr (analyst)
Spanish broadcast: Alejandro Figueredo (play-by-play), Tony Cherchi (analyst)

What time does Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United kick off?

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hat trick from Diego Rossi gives Columbus Crew win vs Atlanta United

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: