Another exciting weekend of MLS has passed us by and just in time to make up for the embarrassing CCL matches. With MLS teams all looking at tough odds to advance, top teams may be all in on the MLS from an early stage. The season is already shaping up to be exciting with some teams carrying over last year’s success and some other ones disappointing after exciting offseasons. No snow this week but with the expansion team getting a point away at the defending champions, were reminded that soccer is game played on the field, not on paper.

1. LAFC (2-0-0, 2nd in West)

Previous Ranking: 3rd

Los Angeles football Club looks absolutely dangerous on the pitch. Carlos Vela is easily the front-runner for MVP, albeit very early in the season, and the team around him is playing very well. This isn’t a club being drug along by their best player, like another LA soccer club, but a team that seems to be firing on all cylinders and playing with a deep balanced squad. Bob Bradley has got to like what he sees and LAFC may already see themselves as favorites in the league.

2. Seattle Sounders (2-0-0, 1st in West)

Previous Ranking: 2nd

Seattle is basically 1b but with LAFC having a slight advantage with their SOS (Strength of Schedule) in this small sample size we have to make a choice. The Sounders put the game away early against Colorado and held the shutout through the rest of the match. Their next two games are away at Chicago and Vancouver, giving them a good chance to end the month with a full 12 points to start the season.

3. DC United (1-1-0, 2nd in East)

Previous Ranking: 1st

Playing in the confines of Yankee Stadium was not congruent with DC United’s play style; Arriola & co. looked a little restricted and couldn’t unlock the NYCFC defense, despite a couple of chances early in the game. Not saying that DC’s defense is the best in the league, but after two games they are the only team to not have allowed a goal so far in the season. DC is still the team to watch in the East.

4. New York Red Bulls (0-1-0, 8th in East)

Previous Ranking: 4th

New York has a break this week and keep their spot in the Power Rankings. Last week’s away draw with the Crew, with a rotated squad, is still looking good, and a tough matchup in CCL just finished. We know what this team can put out on the field, and until proven otherwise they are going to continue being one of the best teams in the league.

5. Sporting Kansas City (1-0-1, 7th in West)

Previous Ranking: 6th

Currently the best chance for MLS to advance in the CCL, SKC won against the Philadelphia Union this past weekend, to put themselves back on track after losing to LAFC in the opening weekend. The legend of Tim Melia grows as he saved a penalty by Marco Fabian, and Graham Zusi came oh-so-close to putting a free-kick in. Going away to Colorado next week should make for an interesting game.

6. Columbus Crew (1-1-0, 1st in East)

Previous Ranking: 10th

Fans may often wonder which Gyasi Zardes will show up each and every matchday, and Columbus fans will continue to hope for the one that showed up on Saturday against Nw England. Being a striker is often about finding the right spots in the box, and Zardes did that very well while scoring his first brace of the season. Zach Steffan continues to show why he belongs on the USMNT, and Caleb Porter might become a saint in Ohio by the end of the season.

7. Minnesota United (2-0-0, 3rd in West)

Previous Ranking: 14th

A team that is surprisingly right where they said they would be, winning in year three of the big plan, the Loons must be happy with their signing of Opara to shore up the defense, and the continuation of Darwin Quintero becoming a top offensive player in the league. Quintero hasn’t created scored a goal from live play yet, but two penalties put away and three assists is definitely an exciting start to the season. Next week’s game will be another test when they face the Galaxy in LA.

8. Atlanta United (0-1-1, 9th in East)

Previous Ranking: 5th

The defending champions continue to have a rough start to the 2019 season. Everyone is out to prove themselves against the title holders and its showing. Atlanta cannot take any solace in only getting a point at home against the new kids on the block, and will need to get back to the hungry team they were last year to kick on as expected. No more “Miggyball”, Frank De Boer’s already on the hot seat, and the fair-weather fans are already vocalizing their frustrations on Twitter. This team cannot let a bad start spiral. Atlanta is still one of the best teams in the league, they just need to do a little adapting and not feed into any potential drama.

9. Toronto FC (1-0-0, 3rd in East)

Previous Ranking: 9th

The other team not yet to play their second match of the season, Toronto still has a strong team on paper and will be happy to have had the week off with Altidore likely being available for the home opener against New England. Despite the embarrassment in the CCL earlier in the pre-season, this team looks poised to still be a factor in the East and is surely awaiting Pozuelo’s arrival with great anticipation.

10. FC Dallas (1-1-0, 4th in West)

Previous Ranking: 15th

No Zlatan, no problem. FC Dallas put LA Galaxy away without too much fuss and won’t be looking back as they prepare for an away match against Columbus. Dallas looks well put together going forward,Bryan Acosta seems like a great pickup in the midfield, and Pomykal looks like he will see a lot of time in the first team this year. There’s a lot of promise but first-year head coach Luchi Gonzalez will be tested this year with his squad being the youngest in the MLS.

11. Houston Dynamo (1-1-0, 5th in West)

Previous Ranking: 13th

Memo Rodriguez scored a great goal from outside the box to equalize with the Impact in the first half. Then Manotas scored from inside the six-yard box to win the game with less than five minutes left. They left it late, but the Dynamo spent the majority of the game creating chances and testing Evan Bush, albeit mostly from long-range. Houston couldn’t make it through to the CCL Semis but start the season with four points after some rotation. There’s plenty to be happy about in Houston.

12. Real Salt Lake (1-1-0, 6th in West)

Previous Ranking: 12th

A win is a win, but this one wasn’t pretty. Real Salt Lake never truly put Vancouver away and the one goal they scored, a controversial penalty kick, was a bit lucky. For a team that seems to find themselves just on the inside of the playoff fence this is a big result. Either way the team is going to be tested with a cross-continental game over in DC. RSL will have to play a tight defensive game and be clinical if the want a chance at a point or possibly even more away to DC United.

13. Portland Timbers (0-1-1, 10th in West)

Previous Ranking: 8th

The MLS is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of league. As of now Timbers haven’t done much lately, and now have a Diego Chara suspension to deal which is a big deal for their next match at FC Cincy. The Timbers have not won a game in which Chara has been absent since July 6th, 2015, when they beat the Quakes 1-0 at home. There might be a bit more pain before the gain for the Timbers.

14. Montreal Impact (1-0-1, 4th in East)

Previous Ranking: 11th

In a time of the season where a couple of teams are rotating squads based on CCL matches, the other teams have to do their best to take advantage. unfortunately the Impact weren’t able to do that against Houston on Saturday. Away from home, the Impact scored first. But after that goal, despite holding on to a possession lead, the Impact gave up two goals to lose the match. Montreal only saw one shot from Piatti, but did see Saphir Taider score a wonderfully casual strike from the back post. The Impact will hope for a better result away at Orlando this weekend.

15. LA Galaxy (1-0-1, 8th in West)

Previous Ranking: 7th

No Zlatan, big problem? Injuries seem to be hit or miss throughout the season for some teams, and right now the Galaxy are being hit in some key positions, mainly Ibrahimovic. Now losing away to FC Dallas isn’t the worst result, but if Ibrahimovic is out for a prolonged period it’s gonna be testy for the Galaxy, who may have seller’s remorse after Ola Kamara went to China. LA goes back home to nurse their injuries and pray for Zlatan to come back against a hot Minnesota United.

16. NYCFC (0-2-0, 6th in East)

Previous Ranking: 19th

It looks like it’s coming together for the post-Villa New York team, but until they start putting tallies in the win column we will continue to be a little wary. Mitrita looked promising on Sunday, and he moved with the ball very well around the pitch, but all of his shots were outside the box and despite being NYC’s best player he couldn’t equate that to a win. nonetheless 18 year-old Sands played well and possession was very much in one favor, this team just needs that final push.

17. Orlando City (0-2-0, 5th in East)

Previous Ranking: 21st

All in all Orlando can’t be all too disappointed with their start to the season. While not ideal they can take positives from a two-goal comeback draw at home against NYCFC and a draw away from home at Chicago. But alas they surely would have hoped for more against Chicago going into the final seconds up one on both the scoreboard and on the pitch. Nani and Dom Dwyer seem to already have chemistry on the field and as the season grows the pairing could create some sparks in the Eastern conference.

18. Colorado Rapids (0-1-1, 9th in West)

Previous Ranking: 17th

Colorado was pushed aside by the Seattle Sounders, but many would say that only allowing two goals to a Seattle team hitting their stride early, is a sign of progress. It’s true that Seattle probably expected to put a few more in the back of the net after scoring two within the first ten minutes, but Colorado played well the rest of the game and allowed zero shots on goal after the 9′ (though Seattle’s Harry Shipp did miss a sitter in 71′). The Rapids now lose some of the momentum they had following the blizzard game, but will try to get back on track with a home game against CCL involved Sporting Kansas City.

19. Chicago Fire (0-1-1, 8th in East)

Previous Ranking: 18th

Sapong’s second goal of the campaign rescued a late draw against Orlando City, much to the chagrin of the Lions. New signings Frankowski, and Sapong sparked some life into Chicago off the bench, while defender Marcelo played well in the back. Rumor has it the Fire are still looking to bring in some new talent; Nico Gaitan would be an interesting addition to the attack, while the defense could be strengthened with Swedish centerback Joakim Nilsson. Chicago will face a tough matchup at home with the Sounders on Saturday.

20. New England Revolution (0-1-1, 10th in East)

Previous Ranking: 16th

A saved penalty made a home loss to Columbus look a bit worse than it actually was, but there is no doubt that the Revolution were outplayed on Saturday. All of Charles Gil’s shots missed the target and he contributed zero key passes, a little disappointing for club record signing. Brad Friedel’s team is still looking for an identity and will continue to find themselves near the bottom of the table until they can find it.

21. FC Cincinnati (0-1-1, 11th in East)

Previous Ranking: 24th

First point in the MLS. A point they took away from the defending champions at their own fortress of a home. Cincinnati can be happy with this result. The team may not sniff much of the playoffs this year, as we should expect a lot of ups and downs in their debut season, but they’ve shown that they are not a team to be overlooked. FC Cincy will play teams tough this year and very well could go on a bit of streak this season with a little bit of confidence, but we’ll stay cautious until we see some consistency this season.

22. Vancouver Whitecaps (0-0-2, 11th in West)

Previous Ranking: 23rd

Vancouver could argue that they deserved better from their matchup with Salt Lake. It begins with a quite questionable penalty call early in the match, and it ends with a header that should have been better from Doneil Henry. The Whitecaps put up a fight away from home and can take away a lot of positives from this match. The process of a rebuild in Vancouver might not take as long as originally expected, there’s potential for this team in 2019.

23. Philadelphia Union (0-0-2, 12th in East)

Previous Ranking: 20th

A dismal start to the season and its gotta feel even worse for the Philly fans after their big signing for the season failed to convert a penalty and left the game with a half hour left with a straight red for a bad foul, after already having a yellow to his name. Then an unfortuante own goal near the end of the match simply sealed their fate. Frustration is already showing it’s face in Philly and Marco Fabián is likely going to miss a couple matches going forward. Things might not get much better with the Union heading to Atlanta, a team ready for a statement match.

24. San Jose Earthquakes (0-0-2, 12th in West)

Previous Ranking: 22nd

Two losses at home by a total score of 5-1 to start the season. Their next game across the country at a top team in the Red Bulls. Things aren’t looking great for Matías Almeyda’s squad so far. There’s potential there, Espinoza has shown some exciting flashes, but Wondolowski isn’t going to save them and the team looks to be a bit of a distance away from where they want to be. Almeyda is a winner in his young coaching career, and will need time to get his ideas to translate onto the pitch.