Power Rankings, 1-30 | Matchday 22

Another new king, a hot striker in Orlando, and the Galaxy are finally off the mat

This incredible artwork is from last week’s Power Rankings, courtesy of Armchair Analyst’s Ottoman – a sentient piece of living room furniture.

Another MLS weekend in the books, this one spread out a little bit. I actually really enjoyed having a game to watch on Thursday night, and obviously I was pretty impressed with what I saw from NYCFC, because I led Sunday’s column with them:

• NYCFC's new look, Miami's impressive return & more from Matchday 22

In other exciting NYCFC news, it looks like they’ve chosen a new form for Gozer the Gozerian:

What did you DO, Ray?

And now, my vote for this week’s MLSsoccer.com Power Rankings:

1. Nashville SC: Twelve unbeaten, four wins in a row, six points from two games against the Union this year, and did it with 10 men this weekend. They’ve earned this spot.

2. San Diego FC: A legitimately concerning defensive performance. And they’ve now conceded 11 times in their past four games. Uh…

3. Philadelphia Union: A very good team and nothing more.

4. Columbus Crew: Clearly need a big signing¹ when the window opens.

5. Inter Miami: I want to see some more squad rotation from Javier Mascherano in the coming weeks and months. Need to save those old legs a bit.

6. FC Cincinnati: As I mentioned in the Sunday column, the underlying numbers are starting to swing in the right direction.

7. Seattle Sounders: The depth of this roster is pretty staggering, and Brian Schmetzer’s pulled a lot of the right strings. I’m still waiting for him to figure out that Georgi Minoungou needs a run of starts on the right wing.

8. Orlando City: Ramiro Enrique heating up is very necessary.

9. LAFC: Holding pattern this week after the cancellation.²

10. Vancouver Whitecaps: It’s now three losses in four. Badly need Brian White and Seb Berhalter to instantly hit the level they were at in the spring to pull out of this tailspin.

11. Minnesota United: Set pieces, counters and throw-ins, oh my!

12. NYCFC: I’m very bullish on what this team’s going to be over the final third of the season. I’m officially a Pascal Jansen guy now.

13. RBNY: I really hope the Timo Werner deal happens. This team is good but not particularly interesting. If he’s in the XI, they’re probably both.

14. San Jose Earthquakes: They’ve left a lot of points on the table over the past month, but have come an incredibly long way after just one window.

15. Portland Timbers: da Costa’s a match-winner, and man did they need to win that one.

16. Chicago Fire: Two pieces away, I think?³

17. Houston Dynamo: I’ve been Ennali Pilled for a long time. I assume you all are now, too.

18. Austin FC: Here’s a link to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.

19. New England Revolution: Got to make those games in hand count, Caleb Porter seems to have run out of solutions.

20. Sociedade Esportiva Charlotte: Time’s running out.

21. Colorado Rapids: They played really well this weekend, and I don’t think it all came down to game states. Shame about that result.

22. FC Dallas: Nothing doing here.

23. Real Salt Lake: Three straight results. Big, six-pointer coming up this weekend against Houston.⁴

24. Sporting KC: Another team, somehow, with three straight results. Just three points below the red line now despite having, by far, the worst underlying metrics in the league.

25. LA Galaxy: Eight points from the last five games, Marco Reus playing well and Joseph Paintsil’s snapped out of his slump, I think.

26. Toronto FC: I remember reading The Miracle of Castel di Sangro 25 years ago. Joe McGinniss – the author – talked about a back-and-forth with one of the players on the team, who he’d insulted. The player said “arrivederta” and turned away from him.

    “Arrivederta” is a form of “arrivederci”⁵ that basically means “goodbye forever, we’ll never talk again.” Just been on my mind this week for some reason.

27. D.C. United: Barely made it through the highlight pack.

28. Montreal Impact: A good lesson for some young players, I guess.

29. Atlanta United: They had all three of their DPs on the field, and one of D.C.’s in Matheusz Klich. And Saba Lobjanidze was a DP at one point, too.⁶

30. St. Louis City: Any new-coach bounce seems to have dissipated already. I know things weren’t perfect last year under John Hackworth, but at least they were fun and productive, and won the occasional game.

1. Tom says they’re after French wingback Hugo Picard – yes, all the “Make it so!” memes have already dropped – as a U-22, which would be good. But they clearly need another DP attacker. A true match-winner.

EDIT: Between the time I wrote that blurb and hit pub, Brianna MacKay confirmed the Picard signing. Engage!

2. They did make a move, though, in parting ways with Marlon. He took up an international roster slot on a $1 million contract, so… something’s up.

3. Man, I really thought Kellyn Acosta was going to have a breakout year playing as a true 6 in Gregg Berhalter’s system, but he’s been either injured or ineffective. And while there are other issues – Jonathan Bamba has not been as productive as hoped; there is no clear, first-choice partner for Jack Elliott; the performance of the ‘keepers has been up-and-down – the inability to dictate the game from the back point has been, I think, the biggest issue.

I do wonder if this is something they’ll address in the summer.

4. I am low-key so fucking hyped for this game. I love the way Houston’s playing and can’t wait to see them reintegrate Jack McGlynn. And obviously Diego Luna’s return is huge for RSL.

5. Arrivederci literally translates as “until we meet again.”

6. This team stinks.