Goals off corner kicks by Fafa Picault and Teal Bunbury rallied host Nashville SC to a 3-1 victory against the slumping Columbus Crew on Sunday.
Bunbury’s header in the 80th minute broke a 1-1 tie. From the right corner, Daniel Lovitz found Bunbury, who scored despite being surrounded by three Crew players.
Yaw Yeboah had given Columbus the lead in the second minute before Picault countered in the 56th to help Nashville (8-3-4, 28 points) extend its unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2).
Nashville goalie Joe Willis preserved the lead in the 92nd minute with a save on a bicycle attempt by Cucho Hernandez.
Willis then denied Jacen Russell-Rowe from close range in the 96th minute for his fifth save before Hany Mukhtar scored on a counterattack a minute later, his ninth goal of the season.
While Nashville set a franchise record with its fourth straight home win, the Crew (5-6-3, 18 points) dropped to 1-5-1 on the road.
Columbus is 1-4-2 in the past seven games despite getting the early goal.
The Crew took advantage of a turnover in the midfield to start a break. Hernandez found Yeboah, who lined a shot from 25 yards for his second goal of the season and first since April 1.
It was the 10th time in Crew history that they scored in the second minute. The franchise record was set exactly a year earlier when Jonathan Mensah scored 55 seconds into a match against Atlanta United.
Hernandez has five assists in the past four games.
Picault got the equalizer off a corner kick by Mukhtar, who has been involved in 78 scores (48 goals, 30 assists) since the start of the 2021 season, the top total in MLS.
His cross went to the crowd in the middle of the goal box, where Picault was able to stick out his foot and redirect the ball for his fourth goal.
–Field Level Media
