Diego Rossi off the mark in Columbus Crew's 2-0 triumph over Toronto FC | OneFootball

Columbus Crew strengthened their position near the top of the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win over Toronto FC, and new Designated Player Diego Rossi opened the scoring in what was his first goal for the Canadian club.

The former LAFC star broke the deadlock in the 21st minute from close-range after Darlington Nagbe's shot from distance was parried into Rossi's path. The 25-year-old made no mistake in front of a somewhat open goal to give the home side the lead.

Rossi, who was signed from Turkish giants Fenerbahce to replace Lucas Zelarayan, will look to lead the line for the Crew alongside Juan 'Cucho' Hernandez and Christian Ramirez in their bid to make a deep playoff run in 2023.

The Uruguay international knows a thing or two about MLS, as he scored 59 goals across all competitions for LAFC between 2018 and 2021, and is looking to replicate that success with Columbus.

"It was really nice to be in the first XI, to score my first goal here at home with all the fans," said Rossi following the game. "It was really nice, but also I enjoy the win that is really important for us in this part of the season. It is really important to win every game."

"I think now maybe I'm more experienced and yeah, I tried every day to be better," Rossi added. "So maybe in these two years, maybe I improved a little bit, but I continue working hard. That's the most important thing for a player."

Columbus and Rossi, fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 42 points, look ahead to to their August 30 clash with Western Conference side Houston Dynamo, who have improved tremendously under first-year head coach .