MLS Power Rankings: Los Angeles FC take top spot, Xhereden Shaqiri leads Chicago up the table

Rank

Team

Change

Analysis

1

Los Angeles FC

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So far so good for LAFC under Steve Cherundolo. The midfield additions of Kellyn Acosta and Ille Sanchez have proven to be big ones for protecting the defense and the Carlos Vela that strikes fear into opposing defenders is back. As long as this continues, this is a team that has the depth to maintain a Supporters’ Shield challenge during the entire season. It can’t be understated how big an upgrade Maxime Crepeau is in net as well.

2

Philadelphia Union 

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The Union have found a way to win uglier this season, ceding possession to the opposition and defending for their lives. And so far it’s working thanks to another homegrown prospect, Nathan Harriel, stepping in at right back and some slick assists from new recruit Julian Carranza. They haven’t scratched their ceiling yet as new DP striker Mikael Uhre has only played 22 minutes this season.

3

Real Salt Lake

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No Albert Rusnak, no problem! Count me among those who were concerned about RSL coming into the season but four goals allowed over five games will play well. They’ll still need to score more goals but Pablo Ruiz has done such a good job protecting the defense.

4

Columbus Crew

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Sporting one of the best players in the league in Lucas Zelarayan, the Crew are able to move on from Gyasi Zardes, who is currently stuck on the bench, without missing a beat. While the defense will need to improve for a sustainable run, scoring the second-most goals in the league so far is something that can’t be looked past.

5

Minnesota United

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Unbeaten through four, with a tough schedule that saw them face three of last year’s playoff teams, is a great way to start the year for Adrian Heath’s side. While the attack hasn’t been as effective as expected to start the season, the hope is that it also won’t need to be with Dayne St. Clair now in net overseeing a much-improved defense. Is this the year that the Loons finally put it together?

6

Chicago Fire

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Whatever Ezra Hendrickson is cooking, I want some. Not only are the Fire defending well, but they’re also scoring goals while sitting in the top half of the Eastern Conference. This could end up being the biggest turnaround of the year as new recruits Xhereden Shaqiri, Kacper Pryzybylko, and Rafael Czichos are showing their worth and more in the early going of the season.

7

FC Dallas

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Alan Velasco, Jesus Ferreira, and Paul Arriola combine to form an impressive front three in the league. With Paxton Pomykal back, Dallas looks like they’ll be a playoff team again this season as young talent is coming together.

8

Austin FC

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I’m so conflicted on this team. On one hand, they’ve scored the second-most goals in the league across four matches but on the other, the two victories over FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami shouldn’t count for much at this stage of the season. Drawing against Seattle grades out well but there’s a reason why the Sounders haven’t appeared on this list yet.

9

Orlando City

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Building an entirely new attack during the offseason is hard, especially when it has taken time for Ercan Kara to get going. Good thing that Pedro Gallese is one of the best goalkeepers in the league overseeing an impressive defense in Orlando. They’ll get better as the season goes on.

10

New York Red Bulls

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Another team that’s hard to rate, the Red Bulls have scored seven goals against bad defenses in San Jose and Toronto but only scored one goal in their next two matches facing Minnesota and Columbus which feels about right for where the team should be. Not good enough to compete with the top teams yet but Franky Amaya and Lewis Morgan are poised for impressive seasons which could raise the team’s ceiling in a big way.

11

Colorado Rapids

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The Rapids need a goal scorer. This is a solid team but if they aren’t able to figure out where the goals are coming from sooner than later, Auston Trusty’s pending exit to Arsenal will hurt more than it should. 

12

LA Galaxy

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Things are moving in the right direction as Douglas Costa gets more comfortable in Los Angeles but the team still needs to be more clinical. Shooting the ball 20 times but only getting three shots on target isn’t what a Javier Hernandez led attack should be producing in this league and Greg Vanney will want to get more out of them.

13

Charlotte FC

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Unlucky to not have gotten a point against DC United, Miguel Angel Ramirez has his team well drilled. I’m not sure if I’ve seen a team pull off more plays of 10 plus passes than Charlotte and they currently have the leading scorer and assisters in the league in Karol Swiderski and Ben Bender, just like we all predicted.

14

Atlanta United

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Heading into the season, Atlanta’s defense was a concern and four matches into the year it is still a concern as Atlanta have allowed two goals per game in the early going. They’re putting the ball in the back of the net at an okay clip but the league has improved to a point where a 3-2 victory won’t get the job done every week.

15

Portland Timbers

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Portland needs Sebastian Blanco to turn back the clock quickly as their team is struggling to score goals. If Yimmi Chara isn’t scoring a worldie, the Timbers lack ideas going forward. Gio Savarese also has work to do in order to make last year’s defensive run return.

16

DC United

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DC has the right idea but their players haven’t been able to execute so far this season, outside of Bill Hamid being outstanding as always. The good news is that help is on the way with the return of Chris Durkin and the early arrival of Taxiarchis Fountas. Those two should be able to do enough to improve DC’s prospects moving forward.

17

Sporting Kansas City

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We’re entering what feels like year 100 of Sporting needing a striker. Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi can only do so much without support at the top of the pitch. Without that help, Sporting will sit closer to the bottom of the league than they’d like to be.

18

FC Cincinnati

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Improvement is showing as Brandon Vazquez and Dominique Badji are keeping big money signing Brenner rooted to the bench. Credit to Pat Noonan for trying the 4-4-2 diamond in their first match then immediately rolling out a back three when it was clear that wasn’t working. It’ll take a while for Cincinnati to get where they’d like to be but they’re moving in the right direction.

19

Seattle Sounders

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Hampered with injuries and Concacaf Champions League duties, the Sounders have struggled to get going. But as a team not known for being fast starters, there isn’t anything to worry about at this stage.

20

Nashville SC

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Set play defense and an over reliance on Hany Mukhtar has let Nashville down. This isn’t to say that Mukhtar is a bad player, but if there isn’t a second scoring option for Gary Smith to rely on, this will be a long season for Nashville.

21

New York City

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Also struggling with set play defense and balancing Champions League play, New York will need to do better to defend their MLS cup. Talles Magno could be a revelation this year but the team could also show that their hot run to win the cup last season was just that, a hot run.

22

New England Revolution

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Missing Matt Turner, the defense in New England has taken a step back. They have had injuries to their regular center backs as well but expectations were high after setting the MLS points record last season. Like other Champions League teams, results are expected to pick up in the near future though.

23

Houston Dynamo

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Houston has shown impressive improvement this season, allowing three goals across their four matches but they also need to be more clinical on the attacking end. Darwin Quintero is getting back to his best and new signing Sebastian Ferreira will find the net sooner than later. Improvement but much more to come.

24

Toronto FC

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Toronto needs to figure out their defense, while there are exciting players on the team, they may be out of playoff contention by the time Lorenzo Insigne joins the them in the summer. With tough tests on the horizon, we’ll soon see where Bob Bradley needs bodies.

25

Montreal Impact

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If you could ignore the attacking third, Montreal is a great team. Wilfred Nancy has his side defending well, playing a great buildup to get to the final third, and then Djordji Mihailovic finds Romell Quioto, Kei Kamara or Mason Toye in attack. This is a team that just needs a top striker to compete before Mihailovic is sold to fund them.

26

San Jose Earthquakes

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Hopefully, the Jackson Yueill experiment at center back is over? But for a team with so many above-average midfielders, San Jose has no idea what they really want to do with the ball. Matias Almeyda basically threatens to leave every week and at this point, let him.

27

Vancouver Whitecaps

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Vancouver may have made the mistake of committing to an interim coach too soon as the counterattack that worked so well for them last season isn’t holding up now. Losing Maxime Crepeau to LAFC is a blow but a bigger one is that Brian White has only played one match this season due to a calf injury. Hopefully, his return will improve things for a team that has only scored two goals on the season.

28

Inter Miami

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Miami were expected to be a bad team this season but this is quite an implosion. Phil Neville is already blaming his best player Gonzalo Higuain for not doing enough on a team that has conceded ten goals in their last three matches. Neville should be on the hot seat but due to his relationship with David Beckham, will that ever happen?