Power Rankings, 1-30 | Matchday 4
Sørensen's got the 'Caps playing Nancy-ball, Cincy slipping & more
Man have I been impressed by the ‘Caps. I really thought they were going to take a step backwards this year – they parted ways with (and didn’t replace) a DP, they got rid of the most successful coach in the club’s MLS history1, and their only significant reinforcements were two guys (Jayden Nelson and Emmanuel Sabbi) who’d been non-factors in their previous MLS stints.
But they’ve been better basically across the board. I wrote about them a ton for my Sunday column:
They’re the best story of 2025 so far, because they’ve bet on two things I love: internal improvement and brave, possession-heavy soccer. New head coach Jesper Sørensen’s got them doing Wilfried Nancy things, and it’s gorgeous. Move them up damn near to the top of the watchability rankings.
By the way, the very early underlying data2 says their success is not a fluke:
Ok, obviously they’ve made a huge jump in my Power Rankings vote as well. Here we go:
Inter Miami: The Herons, by the underlying numbers, have the best defense in the East. And the best xG differential. And (subjectively, but c’mon) the most talent3.
As long as they avoid red cards, they’re the favorites.
Vancouver Whitecaps: They’re using the ball like the Crew and were even able to do it against Monterrey. I love this team.
Columbus Crew: Short-handed, short-rest, and still awesome at cracking even the most compact defensive structures. Really ready for this team to go out and get some high-level attacking reinforcements.
Philadelphia Union: Got out-toughed more than outplayed, which marks the first time all year they’ve had to deal with either.
LAFC: Three losses4 in the past week, and the lack of midfield creativity is starting to show. Got to admit I’m not concerned yet, though things could get gnarly with four of the next five on the road, and CCL play mixed in.
San Diego FC: Mikey Varas has been really impressive with not just his prep, but with his ability to make adjustments on the fly. See: solving Columbus in the second half last weekend.
Seattle Sounders: Injuries and individual errors. Houston’s a must-win this weekend before they go on the road for seven of their next nine. Time for Jesus Ferreira to earn his keep.
Minnesota United: Uncharacteristic defensive collapse. Mulligan.
Colorado Rapids: They’re not playing all that well, but they’ve showed more depth than I expected (while battling a half-dozen injuries) and Zack Steffen’s been awesome. Literally the best he’s ever played.
Charlotte FC: High floor because they’re so sound defensively. The ceiling goes up if the floodgates now open for Pat Agyemang.
St. Louis City: Rock-solid defensively, even without Roman Bürki. Still waiting for the attack to get untracked.
FC Cincinnati: Injuries and individual errors. Atlanta’s a must-win this weekend before they go on the road for seven of their next 10. Time for Evander to earn his keep.
NYCFC: They’re better than they should be given all the absences (injury-based) and roster holes (buy a DP 10, dammit).
Nashville SC: That was very impressive. They matched Philly’s energy (nobody else has done that) in midfield and were better than them in both boxes. Two wins on the trot and plenty to be positive about.
RBNY: They’ve looked good with the ball and bad without it, which is the opposite of their usual thing.
Orlando City: A good result, some clever tactical adjustments from Oscar Pareja and they’re showing a bit more depth than I’d thought they’d had. Still need to go shopping for one more stud center back.
Chicago Fire: Not playing great, but that’s no surprise given the missing pieces (especially in midfield). Fact that they’re getting results anyway is beyond encouraging given who this team’s been for the past 15 years.
San Jose Earthquakes: I don’t think there’s a need to overreact to the two straight home losses. The Quakes still look far ahead of schedule, though also still in need of some obvious roster surgery.
Atlanta United: Miguel Almiron solves problems, but Atlanta as a whole are less than the sum of its parts5:
Austin FC: The defense has been excellent. The attack has been anemic, which is what I was worried about heading into this season.
RSL: Carry job from Diego Luna. I love watching this kid play.
FC Dallas: Couldn’t get on the ball to exert any control – or create any chances – at home against an exhausted ‘Caps side. Clearly they’re a work in progress.
D.C. United: They have looked good in a lot of ways but their lack of final third quality has been too much to overcome. The schedule toughens up now.
I’m expecting the bottom to drop out.LA Galaxy: Really good road point, which followed a really good CCL performance. I’m not yet buying that this team’s figured it out, but I’ll change my tune if they show well in Minnesota next weekend.
Portland Timbers: Rightfully pissed about that non-call on the Emiro Garces tackle. A brutal result with five of the next seven on the road.
New England Revolution: The focus will understandably be on the attack, but my god the rest defense is a mess.
Sporting KC: Hell of a fightback to end that 10-game losing streak. I’m not sure it signifies anything other than Minnesota switching off, though.
Houston Dynamo: They actually played well in a lot of ways. But man, they need more on the defensive side of the ball from Jack McGlynn. Watch him throughout this clip:
CF Montreal: First result of the season. Three more roadies before their Odyssey ends.
Toronto FC: Not a lot to say6 at this point.
I still think Vanni Sartini is a very good coach, btw, and hope to see him in MLS again. Same with Jim Curtin and Tata Martino, two other coaches who were dismissed after 2024.
So early that it’s probably irresponsible to use it, but fk that we move.
How many more Noah Allens are out there? Domestic academy products who get recruited over, but it turns out are much better than the $7m guy brought in to play over them?
One of the things that gives me hope for Miami in the post-Messi era is that they’ve been clear-eyed about the value of guys like Allen, Benja Cremaschi, Ian Fray and Yannick Bright. Talent is talent no matter where it comes from, and I wish more MLS teams were better at understanding that.
One of them was kiiiind of a win, though, as their 2-1 loss at Columbus was enough to see them through to the CCL quarters.
We’re approaching “we need to have a talk about Aleksey Miranchuk” time, because he’s a net negative out there virtually every week. Would probably make more sense to play Almiron as a 10, and go out and get Julian Gressel to play on the right wing. Gressel’s very available, we know he fits perfectly with Miggy, and we know how productive he’s been:
Doing this would, I think, clean up some of the attacking third spacing issues Atlanta have been working through. And yeah, it’d make Miranchuk a $12m super-sub, but if it makes the team better overall…
Actually, I do have a lot to say: Everyone knows this year’s TFC side is going to be bad. So why are they not using this season to integrate some academy players and try to create a pipeline to the first team? Look at what that’s done over the years for the likes of NYCFC, Philly, RBNY, RSL, Seattle and now Miami. Look at all the money Dallas has made off of their academy (and how the bottom’s kind of dropped out now that they’ve hit a somewhat fallow period — there’s a lesson to be taken there, folks!). Look at how the team they faced this weekend, the freaking Chicago Fire, have integrated academy kids and made them central to this new era, with such promising early returns.
Toronto is as rich a talent hub as any place in MLS outside of Southern California, NYC metro and maaaaaybe North Texas. The Reds should be STACKED with homegrown kids, and supplemented with Bernardeschi-level signings.
It’s sad that they’re not. And it’s frustrating that this year (so far) isn’t being used for a club-wide cultural reboot aimed at that exact target.
A rejoinder about TFC: they kind of are using this season to integrate those academy players (Stefanovic, Cimermancic) that they think are going to become good pros. But beyond them, there aren't a lot of academy players banging on the door to win minutes. On this team. And that's the bigger issue.
Yes, the GTHA has a lot of football talent. But too little of it is playing on TFC academy teams. Look at all the talent committed (or committing) to the CMNT that had some time in the academy before moving on, and look at TFC2 & TFC3 today.
I don't think that the academy is or has been on track as the other top developing sides you mention. That's why the team is struggling to get younger this year.