How about that for an ending?
Nashville SC maintained its unbeaten start to 2026 on the road Saturday night against the Columbus Crew, stealing a 1-0 win deep into extra time that keeps them joint-top of the Eastern Conference standings through four games. From Cristian Espinoza’s stellar cameo to Hany Mukhtar’s record-setting goal, it was an evening that will live long in the memory of fans of the Boys in Gold, and one that sets Nashville up well for a series of tests approaching this spring.
Here’s what we learned.
A moment of magic
Espinoza was by far Nashville’s loudest splash in the transfer market this offseason, joining as a free agent and the club’s newest Designated Player after a superb spell with San Jose. The Argentine winger, known for his peach of a right foot and ridiculous passing range, twice earned MLS All-Star nods in San Jose and left the club as its all-time assists leader — exactly the sort of player Nashville sought to level up its attack.
Espinoza’s start in Music City has been encouraging. He grabbed an assist off the bench in the Boys in Gold’s 2-0 victory against Ottawa in the Concacaf Champions Cup last month, has started each MLS match for Nashville except for Saturday’s and logged two goal involvements last weekend against Minnesota, his first in the league for his new team. On the way, he’s produced plenty of exciting dribbles, worked flawlessly with Andy Najar on the right flank and offered a tireless work rate, making him a fast fan favorite.
But, for all his brilliance so far, Saturday was the moment Espinoza made his greatest statement for Nashville yet. On the stroke of full time, the Argentine swept in behind Columbus’ back line and bounced up and down the right edge of the box, sitting his defender down before coolly laying the ball off to Mukhtar for a superb winner.
It was a play of the highest order from a player of the highest caliber — a moment of magic and a sign of things to come from Nashville’s new No. 7.
Milestone for Mukhtar
While Espinoza stole headlines for his jaw-dropping assist on Nashville’s winner, from a numerical standpoint, the goal was far more significant for its scorer. Mukhtar reached the illustrious tally of 150 goal contributions in MLS with the close-range finish, a milestone that puts him far and away as the leading attacker in Nashville’s history and top among active players in career MLS goal involvements.
Few additional words are needed to describe the immense impact Mukhtar has had on MLS since joining Nashville in 2020. In that span, he’s won the MLS Golden Boot and MLS MVP, appeared in a Leagues Cup final, scored in and won the U.S. Open Cup Final and been central to all the good things Nashville has done on the pitch in between. His creative ability, ruthless finishing, astute positioning and leadership skills have all been invaluable to the Boys in Gold’s ascent from expansion franchise to cup contender in just six years.
Saturday’s goal, as much as a thrilling winner, was a just reward for Mukhtar’s superb contributions to the club and the league writ large — a milestone personal moment that, poetically, also celebrated the 25,000th goal in MLS history.
A battle awaits
The Boys in Gold, hot off a tense 0-0 draw at GEODIS Park Wednesday night against Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, opted for numerous changes in its starting XI against Columbus. Mukhtar, Espinoza and Sam Surridge were swapped for Woobens Pacius, Ahmed Qasem and Warren Madrigal. Eddi Tagseth came back into the starting lineup in place of Patrick Yazbek alongside Alex Muyl and Bryan Acosta, while Maxwell Woledzi and Brian Schwake were the lone holdovers in defense.
Despite the abundance of change, Nashville took the game to Columbus and rarely looked in danger of losing — an encouraging sign given its relentless schedule and high-pressure slate of oncoming matches. Being able to rest many of the usual starters allowed their impact on the match to be more prominent once they joined as substitutes (evidenced by Mukhtar’s winner), in addition to preserving their legs for the midweek second leg against Miami.
Grabbing a last-gasp MLS win is always an impressive feat. But to do it on the road, against a conference rival, with a rotated squad between two of the highest-pressure games Nashville will play all season? Take a bow.
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