Welcome to week one of the 2025 MLS season, everyone. By all appearances, we have quite the spectrum of teams, from the La Machina types to the Model T types, and everything in between.
As it is early days and a number of teams are playing internationally, there will be volatility and variability as things settle out, but we have to admit there were fewer surprises than expected. That isn’t to say we feel like we have all of these teams locked in, but rather that most teams fell within our range of expectations after another chaos-filled off-season.
So let’s dive in, shall we?
Top Shelf
1. Inter Miami
For a team playing internationally and going down a player in the middle of the first half, against a pretty good team in NYCFC, Messi, and Miami were able to salvage a 2-2 tie at home.
2. FC Cincinnati
For a team that shed a league MVP, FCC looked very much like themselves, earning a 1-0 win against the MLS Cup runners-up. Unlike many past seasons, the Red Bulls looked to have their act together and were a big challenge for the home side.
3. Columbus Crew
A lot of people wrote off the Crew with the sale of Cucho Hernandez, but not so fast. Wilfried Nancy is still their coach, and they return much of their quality roster from last year. The loss of the Colombian forward will hurt them in games against the best teams, unless or until they replace him, but not against most MLS clubs. That includes an improved Chicago Fire side, as the visitors took a 2-1 lead in the first half before the Crew tied the game up and scored a third to go into the half with the lead, on their way to a 4-2 victory.
4. Los Angeles FC
Steve Cherundolo has his team playing well, in part because of the international play, but also because they continue to execute against one of the best visions in MLS. This was a great opener for MLS as LAFC took on a very good Minnesota side, beating the Loons with a 1-0 scoreline in front of a hyped home crowd.
5. Seattle Sounders
The Sounders looked to have the game in control, trading goals with Charlotte and then taking the lead early in the second half, only for the Carolinians to equalize late with an own goal. Not the way you want to start the season, but CFC proved to be a very good team last year and seems to be solid in 2025 as well.
6. LA Galaxy
Well, that was a surprising result! A 2-0 home loss to San Diego was not what many had placed their bets on, but it was a solid performance by the expansion side and the Galaxy was left wanting. Maybe international play factored into it? Maybe they took San Diego lightly? Either way, not a good start for the Galaxy.
Quality
7. New York City FC
NYCFC had Miami on the ropes, but couldn’t finish the job on the road as Messi did his thing that he does to salvage a tie. Against the Shield winners, on the road, a 2-2 draw is still a good result.
8. Minnesota United
The Loons gave LAFC all they could handle. They came up short, 1-0 on the road, but showed they are very much the team that was dangerous for much of 2024.
9. Atlanta United
With the changes that Atlanta went through, including a coaching change, it was good for them to come up with a 3-2 win in front of over 60,000 for their home opener. They traded goals with a young Montreal side before scoring the winner in the 85th.
10. Charlotte FC
After their breakout season in 2024, the question was could they maintain? Scoring late to earn a 2-2 draw against Seattle is definitely a good sign. As with most pro sports in the US, an East Coast team playing on the West Coast usually struggles, but they found a way to get it done.
11. New York Red Bulls
They came up just short in the MLS Cup last season and started this season with a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati, but most teams will lose in Ohio this year.
12. FC Dallas
In some ways, maybe the Nort Texans don’t deserve the win. The run of play saw Dallas unable to control the middle much, but the truth is soccer is about finishing chances, and FCD did that in spades, giving Eric Quill his first victory as a coach, matching their road victory total in their first game, and showing the league that this is not the same team we saw under Luchi or Nico. That is was against Houston gives the 2-1 victory some added flavor.
13. Philadelphia Union
Well hello there. For where this team was last season, a 4-2 win on the road, against a good Orlando side, is not what we expected. There were signs the Union was going to be better, but wow. Maybe this was an excited team taking advantage of a tired team, so we will watch further, but this is an impressive result.
14. Vancouver Whitecaps
Impressive. Most impressive. Yes, an early red card helps – 11th minute, in case you were wondering – but a 4-1 road victory is still impressive. Is it possible the transition from Evander to David Da Costa contributed to the Timbers being out of sorts? Probably, but still. Good on you, Vancouver, for putting your opponents to the sword when given the chance.
15. Colorado Rapids
So a trip to a poor St. Louis side and a 0-0 draw may not come across as the best thing for a resume, but it is still hard to get a tie on the road in MLS, so credit to the Rapids for doing that.
16. San Diego FC
Well, hello there! Not only did the expansion side win, they were the better team. The 2-0 road victory was an accurate reflection of how the game played out. The game-winner was well deserved, even though it was a capitalization on a mistake, and the second goal was an emphatic finish to close out the game. Who knows how the season will play out – maybe this was them being hyped for their first game – but it certainly was a quality win against a great opponent.
Good
17. Orlando City
For a team ging through international play, also playing MLS games is tough. Most teams don’t get destroyed, 4-2, at home though. No need to panic just yet for Oscar Pareja, as it is just one game, but not a very good one.
18. San Jose Earthquakes
Bruce Arena doing Bruce Arena things. RSL may be on the wrong foot, but a 4-0 home win is still impressive. Considering how poor they were last year, we hesitate to move things too much, especially as it was at home and against RSL but watch this space.
19. Austin FC
Nico Esteves got his first win of the year for his new team with a 1-0 home win over Sporting Kansas City. It remains to be seen whether this was a substantive win or just something most MLS clubs will be doing when they play Peter Vermes’ team.
20. Houston Dynamo
In the long run, the Dynamo will probably be ok, but to lose at home, 2-1, to your in-state rivals – who had been in quite a funk through two different coaching staffs – is not how Houston would want things to go. It was just one big break late in the game for the winner, so maybe it was just one good play.
21. Chicago Fire
This may prove to be too low, but for now, losing 4-2 on the road means you’re here, Chicago, even with Berhalter at the helm. That it was against Columbus means we need data against other teams to really bracket the Fire.
22. Real Salt Lake
So, you’re playing against a legendary coach, in his first game for the Earthquakes, and you get spanked on the road, 4-0? Not good kemosabe.
23. Portland Timbers
An 11th-minute red card will ruin any game plan, so it is tough to know where this team really will be, but losing 4-1 at home is never a good thing. Maybe Vancouver is just that good? Time will tell. Definitely need more data.
24. CF Montreal
For a team as young as Montreal, a back-and-forth with a team as good as Atlanta might be a good sign. With all the fixing they had to do, we will have to hold judgment to see if Montreal can hang with teams that good, or if the 3-2 road loss was just youthful exuberance.
Poor
25. D.C. United
Sadly, it appears United will once again not improve. A 0-0 tie at home to a poor Toronto team is just not good enough. Frankly, not much else to write about here.
26. New England Revolution
For a team that really needed to improve on last year, a 0-0 tie at Nashville is not an awful start, but it is also not enough to move them up.
27. St. Louis City SC
From a fantastic 2023 to an atrocious 2024, it appears 2025 is going to be closer to the latter than the former, although one game is just that – one game. And a home 0-0 tie against a good Colorado team isn’t awful.
28. Nashville SC
The men from Tennessee were quality for much of their short history, but last year was not and this year has not started well, with a 0-0 tie with New England at home as their first result.
29. Toronto FC
Toronto has been in this tier for most of the past few seasons, and while a 0-0 road tie is technically a good result, it was against a poor D.C. side so not sure how much we can glean from that.
30. Sporting Kansas City
Is Peter Vermes done? In some ways that may seem early to ask, but SKC has not been good for some time now, and a 1-0 loss to Austin can’t give fans a lot of confidence. Of course, it really is only the first game, but we put that question on the table because, frankly, it is coming if they don’t turn things around soon.
I wonder why you even bother writing a paragraph on Miami before putting them at #1 because Messi.