Here at the compound, the weeks are always better when the Verde and Black win, especially after winning somewhere we have never won before. While we are shooting up these rankings, we are not at the top yet, as Inter Miami remains simply too good.
- Inter Miami (1): They really should not be dropping any points at home, and it’s still just unfair to have Messi come off the bench and score two minutes later.
- Columbus Crew (5): See we are not biased. Even shorthanded, the Crew keep winning on the road and their potential once they get their Cucho replacement should give Miami a serious rival.
- Philadelphia Union (3): Losing to Miami away with a full squad and putting up a solid fight keeps Philly right in the 3 spot
- Austin FC (7): It’s only the second time St. Louis gave up a goal all season, so the Verde and Black should be proud of another gritty win.
- Vancouver Whitecaps (8): A draw on the road in Toronto kept the Whitecaps atop the West for another week.
- Chicago Fire (4): Drawing Montreal at home was not a great look. Kind of nuts that 9 of the 11 Fire points this season have come on the road.
- Charlotte FC (2): Playing Colorado at altitude is typically a challenge, but Charlotte looked completely dazed and confused on a Rocky Mountain afternoon. We’ll be curious if they wake back up or there are real problems here.
- San Diego FC (14): Even though they probably would not have held on against LAFC if the Black and Gold has stayed at 11 men, a win is a win. Jolting out to a 3-0 lead was mighty impressive, and this team is going to be very competitive this season.
- FC Cincinnati (20): Last week, FCC was way too low, and they are likely too high this week. The middle of the MLS table is a giant cluster. They should beat up on New England this weekend at home, but no one would be surprised if they don’t.
- Minnesota United (17): Beating RSL at home should be a minimum expectation, not a reason to move up to 7 spots, but again our voters are left in an unenviable position.
- Orlando City (13): Winning in Carson used to be impressive, but is now the norm. A gift of a game winner helps as well.
- Nashville SC (6): Losing at home to a struggling Cincinnati team is not a great look, but then again this team is well ahead of preseason expectations.
- Colorado Rapids (21): They looked really good against Charlotte, which was the exact opposite of how they looked against Portland. Having Steffen back surely helped (he has been incredible this season), but they need to be more consistent in their performances moving forward.
- Portland Timbers (15): The disrespect that our voters show weekly to the Houston Dynamo is incredibly apparent in the Timbers only going up one spot after beating the Dynamo. This team is getting dangerous quickly despite being coached by Phil Neville.
- Atlanta United (18): That was one of the most fun matches in MLS in a while. This Atlanta team is one of the most unpredictable in the league, and we fully expect them to continue to be a must watch team.
- LAFC (10): The loss in San Diego started off awful, but it was pretty impressive that they did not concede with 10 men in the second half. Now their own fans are conceding to each other, but that’s an entirely different story.
- NYCFC (9): We thought teams were supposed to have epic comebacks against Atlanta, not blow a big second half lead and lose.
- St Louis CITY (12): This team is really struggling to find the net even their defense remains resolute. Might the arrows be coming out soon at Energizer Park?
- Seattle Sounders (16): Dropping points to San Jose on the road is not awful, but this team hasn’t gotten 3 points since their 5-2 beatdown of LAFC and the road doesn’t get any easier in San Diego.
- New York Red Bulls (12): Losing to a New England that hadn’t scored all season before this match is a bad look. The Fire’s front line should feast on this crew.
- FC Dallas (19): Well they got Peter Vermes fired. That’s a hell of an accompolishment.
- San Jose Earthquakes (25): Getting a point against Seattle gets them out of the bottom mess for a week, but there is a big gap between Dallas and the final 9 here.
- DC United (24): Our voters respect the Crew enough that a home loss actually improved their Power Ranking.
- New England Revolution (27): Winning and scoring is a great feeling, but they still need to do more to convince fans to make the schlep out to Foxborough to see these guys.
- Real Salt Lake (26): Another team that somehow went up with a loss. Our voters really don’t think much of the Galaxy.
- Houston Dynamo (23): They were picked to shreds by the Timbers. Will Ben Olsen be the third fired coach this season in the league?
- LA Galaxy (22): We know they have injury problems, but there is no excuse for the missed opportunities and poor goalkeeping that denied them a point against Orlando at home.
- (Tied between Toronto FC and CF Montreal): Well, both teams actually got points this week, which is a dramatic improvement in form over their previous bottom 2 spots
- (Well really 30): Sporting Kansas City: Firing your manager of 15+ years who is in your Hall of Fame in March is a truly stunning development, even if it was likely a few seasons overdue. Peter Vermes should have just retired on his own.