📈 MLS Power Rankings: Newcomers from the west, former leaders plummet

After another two matchdays of Major League Soccer, we’ve got plenty of movement in out top-10 power rankings. Let’s take a look at which clubs moved up, down, or joined the fray for the first time.

10. Portland Timbers (🆕)

The Timbers are flying under the radar, as they usually tend to do, but since a home loss to rivals Seattle, resulting in Portland crashing to the bottom of the conference, coach Phil Neville has seemingly righted the ship in the Pacific Northwest with 18 points from a possible 24.

There is plenty of talk about the attacking forces of the some of the teams that are yet to come in this top-10, but the Timbers are the only team in all of MLS with three players that have scored eight or more goals. The lethal trio of Evander, Felipe Mora, and Jonathan Rodriguéz has lead Portland all the way to sixth place in the west.

9. New York Red Bulls (👍 last rank: 10)

The Red Bulls are simply enigmatic. When they win, they can look frighteningly good, and when they lose it can be a total horror show. But a 3-0 win against Toronto at the weekend without some of their star attackers is certainly enough to renew the faith for the Red Bull faithful.

8. Colorado Rapids (🆕)

Welcome to the big-time, Colorado. The Rapids have caught fire as of late, winning three straight to jump all the way up to fourth in the west. Đorđe Mihailović has led from the front, scoring four goals in his last two games to lead the Rapids on a rampant run.

The Denver club had one of the busier winter transfer windows of any MLS club, and it seems to finally be paying off.

7. Charlotte FC (👍 last rank: 9)

Dean Smith’s side are slowly, but surely working their way up the rankings. Despite not boasting the high-flying attackers that many of their Eastern Conference rivals have spent a pretty penny to acquire, Charlotte have won four of their last five, due in large part to the scintillating form of Patrick Agyemang and Kerwin Vargas. They now find themselves in fourth place in the east, a frankly stunning achievement through 20 games.

6. Real Salt Lake (👎 last rank: 4)

RSL had been the most watchable team in the league for months, lead by the relentless firepower of Chicho Arango and Andrés Gómez. However, dropped points in two of their last three games has seen the high-flyers start to lose altitude.

5. FC Cincinnati (👎 last rank: 1)

It’s quite the fall from grace for Cincinnati, but they have become a victim of their own high standards as we pass the halfway point of the campaign. Pat Noonan’s side had a chance to leapfrog Miami at the top of the conference, but instead they fell at home to a New England side that started the night in last place.

4. Columbus Crew (👍 last rank: 5)

We said it last week, and we’ll say it again — watch out MLS, the Crew are coming. After a shock defeat to a weakened Inter Miami side in the midweek fixture, Wilfried Nancy’s side bounced back with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Sporting KC thanks to a Cucho Hernandéz hat-trick. While they still sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, they have up to three games in hand on many of their rivals.

3. LA Galaxy (👍 last rank: 7)

The Galaxy are making the biggest leap of any team in the top-1o this week, and that’s due in large part to deserved victories against NYCFC and Real Salt Lake, two teams that have featured in our top-10 throughout most of the season.

What makes it most impressive, Greg Vanney’s team are doing it without Riqui Puig for now, and will only get better when he returns.

2. Inter Miami (👍 last rank: 3)

While Miami did not play over the weekend, the Herons showed that they can hang with the big-boys even without Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in an impressive 2-1 win against a revitalized Columbus Crew, snapping their win streak in the process.

1. LAFC (👍 last rank: 2)

LAFC are quickly making it known that they are the team to beat in MLS. Though they had a slight blip in the form of a 1-1 draw in Austin, the Black and Gold do not stay down for long. They followed that up with 6-2 battering of San Jose, reclaiming top-spot in the Western Conference in the process.