How it happened
Kristijan Kahlina kept Charlotte in the match for an hour and finished with 11 saves and a match rating of 8.1, yet Columbus Crew still won 3-1.
Charlotte took the lead in the 17th minute through Toklomati. Columbus levelled in the 28th, when Brais Méndez scored, and the sides went in at 1-1.
The decisive spell came after the hour. Anass Zaroury put Columbus ahead in the 63rd minute, and Taha Habroune added a third in the 65th. Charlotte had no reply. There were no red cards.
The numbers
The shot count explains why Kahlina was so busy. Columbus had 33 shots to Charlotte's nine, and 14 of them were on target against two. They also won the corner count 10-4 and finished with 2.81 expected goals to 0.88.
Possession was close, with Columbus on 53% and Charlotte on 47%. The gap lay in what each side did with the ball.
Méndez and Habroune shared the highest match rating on the pitch, 9.3 each. Méndez had six key passes and an expected-goals figure of 0.47. Habroune had five key passes and 0.43. Zaroury, who played 69 minutes, was rated 8.2 and had 0.39 expected goals.
Kahlina's 11 saves, with the three goals conceded, account for all 14 shots on target.
What it means
The result cuts against the table. Columbus are 25th with 32 points, while Charlotte are ninth with 46, a gap of 14 points. Charlotte had won the previous meeting 3-1 on 15 August.
Columbus's recent run reads one defeat, then two wins, a defeat and a win in the latest five, and they have won four of their last 10. Charlotte have won five of their last 10 and lost two.
Across ten meetings, Charlotte have four wins, Columbus three and three have been drawn, with 3.6 goals a game on average. This match produced four.