The Columbus Crew hosted Atlanta United FC Sunday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field and came away with a 2-0 win to give interim head coach Laurent Courtois his first MLS victory. It was the Crew’s second straight win in as many outings under Courtois after the Black & Gold topped New York City FC in a U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday. Here are our three takeaways from Sunday’s action:

1.    Does defensive scheme matter? Well, of course it does. The Crew demonstrated, for the second straight match, that their defenders can stop their opponent more reliably with a simple adjustment. The Black & Gold earned their second straight clean sheet under Courtois after he returned to playing three defenders on the back line, just as the club did for three years with Wilfried Nancy at the helm.

2.   What else does solid defense provide? Even though the Atlanta offense outshot the Crew 16-10, that didn’t translate into more good chances as the Black & Gold put more shots on net – 4-2. In addition, the Crew’s defense led to more offense. The Black & Gold controlled the ball more with 58% of the match’s possession time. Maybe most important, Atlanta had only three corner kicks all night. That meant that the Crew did not have to defend a lot of set pieces, which have been problematic.

3.   The Crew now break for almost two months for the FIFA World Cup competition, which will be held in North America. The Nordecke will have plenty to cheer for, however, as two members of the team will be on the pitch for their respective countries. Defender Max Arfsten will play for the U.S. Men’s National Team, while defender Steven Moreira will be part of Cape Verde’s squad.