MLS is back! Opening weekend was entertaining, as we saw an expansion team, six new coaches, and a plethora of exciting (old and young) players begin their MLS careers. Highlights included the defending champs being shutout on the road, FC Cincinnati scoring a world-class banger to introduce themselves to the league, and LAFC scoring a game-winner in the 94′ minute. There were a couple of surprises, and with some teams fielding rotated squads thanks to CCL, our Power Rankings saw some movement on both ends of the list.
1. DC United (1-0-0, 2nd in East)
Previous Ranking: 5th
Shutting out the defending champs is nothing to sneeze at. Atlanta still fielded a strong team despite a few rotations between CCL matches, but DC United completely outclassed them with a high-press and attacking football down the wings. Luciano Acosta and Paul Arriola picked up where they left off last year and Atlanta may have been lucky to leave Audi field only down two.
2. Seattle Sounders (1-0-0, 1st in West)
Previous Ranking: 9th
The Sounders did not hold back in welcoming FC Cincy to the MLS, with a 4-1 thrashing. Everyone was excited to see Jordan Morris comeback and he did not disappoint, scoring a brace. Seattle looked tidy and dominated their opponents by out-shooting them 16 to 4, their only blight being a world-class volley from mid-fielder Leonardo Bertone. We will wait till next week to see if they can put up similar numbers against Colorado, a team that has least been in MLS longer than one week.
3. LAFC (1-0-0, 4th in West)
Previous Ranking: 3rd
LAFC needed a late goal against a 10-man squad to pull out the victory but nonetheless a win is a win. LAFC will need to be more clinical in the future, but beating a fellow Western Conference frontrunner early on in the season is a great start. Diomande played the part of super sub on Sunday and with Designated-Player André Horta presumably coming back sooner than later, this team should only improve as the season goes on.
4.New York Red Bulls (0-1-0, 8th in East)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
It’s not that the Red Bulls looked bad against the Crew, they fielded a “B-squad” and still left with a point, but their fall in the rankings is because the teams above them looked better. It’s always a positive to come away with points when rotating your squad, and now a rested New York looks poised to play a competitive game in Mexico against Santos.
5. Atlanta United (0-0-1, 11th in East)
Previous Ranking: 1st
The defending champions have had quite the start to the 2019 season, a bad loss in Costa Rica, followed by a dominating comeback at home to advance in the CCL, to a shutout loss to their bogey team. Atlanta has brought up a couple of questions with Frank De Boer’s rotation, Brek Shea’s involvement, and the isolation of Josef Martinez against DC, but they are still the defending champs and boast a lot of talent. Monterrey will be a hard leg away, but FC Cincy at home on the weekend should allow them to make some more drastic rotations.
6. Sporting Kansas City (0-0-1, 12th in West)
Previous Ranking: 4th
A heart-breaking loss to a team whose number they seemed to have last year, Sporting Kansas City have to quickly pick their heads up as they fly 3,000 miles to Panama for the first leg of their quarterfinals match-up. Despite this loss, Sporting looked good in LA and their focus should be on traversing their congested schedule without picking up any injuries.
7. LA Galaxy (1-0-0, 3rd in West)
Previous Ranking: 8th
Ibrahimovic heroics in Los Angeles are starting to become a staple, with four goals coming after the 75′ minute so far in his stint with the Galaxy, but surprisingly Ibra may have been overshadowed on Saturday by 16-year old Efrain Alvarez. The attacking midfielder came on as a sub in the 60′ and setup the equalizer by Daniel Steres, while also being a key component in the buildup to the game-winner. Watch this space.
8. Portland Timbers (0-1-0, 6th in West)
Previous Ranking: 7th
Portland left Denver with a point to start the season. Frankly it’s not a bad result given the conditions, an MLS record temperature of 19ºF and enough snow to no longer see the pitch, but Portland will feel that they should have had more with them playing against 10-men for the majority of the game and allowing a 94′ equalizer. MLS requires a short memory though as their next game will be away at LAFC, where snow doesn’t look likely.
9. Toronto FC (1-0-0, 1st in East)
Previous Ranking: 17th
Giovinco is gone. Vazquez is gone. Altidore is out injured. Where does Toronto find their goals? In captain Michael Bradley of course! Toronto looked strong against a Union team at home, a team who are supposed to put up a fight in the East. Maybe the CCL dropouts aren’t in shambles? Either way, Bradley can’t be the team’s crutch on offense, so the goals will have to come from somewhere else.
10. Columbus Crew (0-1-0, 6th in East)
Previous Ranking: 6th
Columbus fans were hoping for better from the Crew on Saturday. Playing at home with emotional momentum, the Crew couldn’t get a full three points against a less-than-full-strength Red Bulls. While a draw isn’t the worst result against last year’s Supporters’ Shield winners, the Crew will have to be disappointed they didn’t take advantage of New York’s rotation.
11. Montreal Impact (1-0-0, 3rd in East)
Previous Ranking: 15th
The Impact came up big in the moments that mattered on Saturday. Despite being out-shot, losing the possession battle, and playing on the west coast, Montreal scored on two of their three shots on goal to get the victory against San Jose. The team will have to create more chances going forward as they can’t expect to always be as clinical as they were on Saturday.
12. Real Salt Lake (0-1-0, 9th in West)
Previous Ranking: 10th
Despite playing the Dynamo between CCL matches, and having an 11v10 advantage for the final 10 minutes, Real Salt Lake were unable to put away their opponents. 2018 Rookie of the Year, Corey Baird did register an assist and a point away from home is never a bad result in the MLS, so now RSL will regroup at home and look to get a full three points against Vancouver.
13. Houston Dynamo (0-1-0, 8th in West)
Previous Ranking: 14th
Whilst preparing for a huge match against Tigres in the CCL, the Dynamo took a point from their match with RSL. The team played well, despite only providing one shot on target and Matias Vera receiving a red card for two yellows, and will have a good opportunity for three points next weekend at home against Montreal.
14. Minnesota United (1-0-0, 2nd in West)
Previous Ranking: 19th
Minnesota have already matched their away wins from 2018 and did so fairly comfortable despite Vancouver’s late attempt at a comeback. Darwin Quintero played phenomenally with a hand in all three goals, posting two assists and a goal from the penalty spot. Minnesota will be glad to win in shootout (the Loons were 3-1-18 last year when allowing 2 or more goals), but will want to see their defense play a bit more solid in the back after allowing 71 in 2018.
15. FC Dallas (0-1-0, 7th in West)
Previous Ranking: 11th
New head coach Luchi Gonzalez won’t be happy with the one point Dallas gained from their home opener against New England, a game his team were favorites in. Despite the draw Bryan Acosta, Dallas’ new DP signing, played well in his MLS debut and Michael Barrios looked explosive and had a good run down the right that ended with the ball nestled in the side netting.
16. New England Revolution (0-1-0, 7th in East)
Previous Ranking: 16th
Second-year head coach Brad Friedel will be pretty happy with the one point New England gained in Dallas. Charles Gil scored a goal on his debut but that was about the only thing to write home about. New England needs to have some players contribute in addition to Gil, but will be happy to have stolen a point away as they now get to go home and play Columbus.
17. Colorado Rapids (0-1-0, 5th in West)
Previous Ranking: 18th
According to MLS there have been 13 “snow games” in league history. Six of them have been in Colorado. So maybe the snow gave the Rapids just enough of an advantage despite their attempt to sabotage the game with an own goal and a red card. Nonetheless the Rapids will be happy to have stolen a point from Portland, especially in the dramatic fashion in which they did so.
18. Chicago Fire (0-0-1, 9th in East)
Previous Ranking: 20th
Despite the loss to the Galaxy, the Fire can take away a lot of positives from Saturday. They were winning through the first hour, Sapong scored on his debut, and up until the 80′ they kept Ibrahimovic mostly in check. But alas Ibra and the Galaxy proved to be too much and despite the positives the Fire go back home with a loss. Luckily a home game against Orlando should give them a chance to bounce back.
19. NYCFC (0-1-0, 4th in East)
Previous Ranking: 12th
Going into halftime, NYC was up 2-0 away from home and looked like they were going to cruise to an MLS opening victory. Meanwhile the second half was a red flag for the New York team. Orlando City scored a goal off a free kick early and with the influx of Dywer and Nani, another goal was scored with some quick and precise passing. ultimately NYCFC was fortunate to leave Orlando with a point, as they were somehow absolved of a handball within the box near the end of the game.
20. Philadelphia Union (0-0-1, 10th in East)
Previous Ranking: 13th
Expectations are high for Philadelphia this year and the fans would have hoped for a better showing than the 3-1 home loss to Toronto. Marco Fabian is the new DP in Philly and is supposed to be a sign of investment from the new management, but the result shows there some more work to be done in Philly. Fabian should continue to gel within the team, and with a young defense there is still a lot of hope for what the season could hold; Philly fans just hope that the results come sooner rather than later.
21. Orlando City (0-1-0, 5th in East)
Previous Ranking: 24th
Honestly Orlando should probably be ranked higher than 21st, especially since they should have finished the weekend with a tally in the win column, but they drew at home and we’ll wait and see what happens from here. Orlando looked impressive, especially once Nani and Dom Dwyer were inserted into the squad, and fans should be excited for what this team can do in 2019.
22. San Jose Earthquakes (0-0-1, 11th in West)
Previous Ranking: 23rd
Possession can be a fickle stat, as San Jose had 66% of it and still found themselves on the bitter end of their home opener against Montreal. This team may have a new coach but they don’t look too much different from how they did last year, both in their squad and in their results on the pitch. It might take a bit more of a shake-up within the team sheet if they are looking to turn around their fortunes.
23.Vancouver Whitecaps (0-0-1, 10th in West)
Previous Ranking: 22nd
Another new head coach who lost their opener, the Whitecaps showed some promise but look like they will need a couple more games before they can find their feet. The team had a lot of change in the offseason and looked to be a little disjointed against Minnesota. Marc Dos Santos likely won’t mind that his centerbacks chipped in with a goal each, but he’ll surely look for his front three to contribute a bit more during the match.
24. FC Cincinnati (0-0-1, 12th in East)
Previous Ranking: 21st
Despite an early contender for goal of the year, FC Cincy found out why it’s hard being an expansion team in MLS. They are the most unknown quality in the league, but the result against the Sounders doesn’t bode well for a smooth season. The team has quality, they made good investments leading up to their league debut, but it may take a while for it to shine through on the first tier level.
Why We Won 