MLS Cup: Columbus Crew outlasts defending champions LAFC, 2-1, as hosts win third league title in front of sea of yellow after first-half strikes from Cucho Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah

Just before the Columbus Crew's fourth MLS Cup appearance on Saturday, a sea of ​​yellow-clad fans serenaded their team with a heartfelt rendition of Elvis Presley's “Can't Help Falling in Love.”

The home fans will now be even more charmed.

Facing Western Conference champions LAFC, Columbus scored twice in four first-half minutes to build a lead it would ultimately not relinquish, as the hosts went on to lift the MLS top prize with a 2-1 win.

There were suspicions in the build-up to the match that Columbus would dominate the ball, so the 68-32 possession advantage in favor of the newly minted league winners in the opening 45 minutes was not a huge shock.

But the 2022 champions' lack of energy early in the game was actually surprising.

A fan waves the Columbus Crew flag before the start of the MLS Cup on Saturday

Columbus Crew's Mohamed Farsi (in yellow) and LAFC's Carlos Vela battle for the ball

Cucho Hernandez opened the scoring with a penalty in the 33rd minute after a handball

Columbus outscored their visitors 8-4 in the first half, but the gap in ambition early on felt much bigger than that.

An early penalty from Aidan Morris in the ninth minute was waved away by the referee, but it was a sign of things to come. One team came in and around the box much more than the other.

Steven Moreira headed wide after finding himself free in the penalty area, while Cucho Hernandez went close with a shot from distance in the 23rd minute, and Diego Rossi hit the side netting in the 27th minute.

Meanwhile, a sloppy Columbus giveaway in the 26th minute gave LAFC their first opening, as Carlos Vela saw his shot blocked, but it was indicative of their toothlessness that their first real chance came from a largely unforced error.

The hosts, meanwhile, had more control over their game and got a well-deserved opener in the 33rd minute, when Hernandez converted a penalty after a handball from Diego Palacios.

And that lead was doubled just four minutes later when Malte Amundsen slotted into Yaw Yeboah for a quietly taken second from the left.

Giorgio Chiellini's team fell on the road in what could be his last professional match

The sight of a 39-year-old Giorgio Chiellini chasing the game from behind – even though Yeboah was not his man – was sobering, especially given his flirtation with retirement before the match.

If this was it for the nine-time Serie A winners, there was no storybook comeback as the hosts held their nerve and LA failed to create much more.

It was also a remarkably quiet game for Vela, who is now out of contract with LAFC and may have just played his last game for the club.

There were flashes of the team that has built a reputation as one of MLS's best.

In first-half stoppage time, Cristian Olivera's cross deflected dangerously off Rudy Camacho's heel in the six-yard box, but the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds for a corner.

LAFC finally came alive in the 74th minute when Denis Bouanga netted a rebound to halve the hosts' lead.

The traveling army of LAFC fans were buoyed and Columbus's – who had had a fairly comfortable final up to that point – were shocked.

But the Crew fans soon found their voice again and almost realized that their team was still in control and minutes away from winning its third MLS Cup.

About twenty minutes later, after some typically nervous final moments, Columbus had officially accomplished that feat.