The more we work into this season, the more chaos we are encountering. Other than Miami, the Revs, Toronto and Sporting, most teams are mostly trending but nothing too predictable. You think you have a feel for teams like Colorado, Vancouver, Portland and Chicago, and then the top two teams lose to the bottom two at home.
Top Shelf
1. Inter Miami (Previously 1)
They did not have a match, and no one did anything to move up to this level.
2. Charlotte FC (4)
What a strong showing, beating San Jose 4-1 at home. Granted, the Earthquakes are not proving to be as strong as they initially appeared, but that is still a solid thrashing.
3. Columbus Crew (2)
NYC is proving to be a tough opponent, so a 0-0 tie at home is not awful. Definitely not ideal, but also not something to punish.
Quality
4. Minnesota United (3)
A 2-2 home tie to the Galaxy sees the Loons drop a little. Maybe this was LA getting it together a little?
5. FC Cincinnati (5)
Being tied 2-2 at home by a team like Atlanta is not ideal for a team most thought would be in the top tier.
6. New York City FC (9)
The body of work is clear – and a 0-0 tie at Columbus is a sign that they really are at this level.
7. Seattle Sounders (8)
But for other results, a 0-0 home tie to Houston would drop a team at this level, but the Rapids and Whitecaps did not hold up their end.
8. New York Red Bulls (10)
Like the Sounders, a 2-1 home win over Toronto is not an exciting result, but they move up because they didn’t wet the bed.
9. Los Angeles FC (11)
Go to Kansas City, get a 2-0 win. Not bad, and much more like what we have come to expect of Cherendolo’s side.
10. Philadelphia Union (12)
Nice rebound for Philly, beating St. Louis 1-0 at home.
11. Vancouver Whitecaps (7)
We had our doubts, and Chicago goes to BC Place and gets a 3-1 victory. Ouch.
12. Colorado Rapids (6)
Portland has been a mess for much of this season, so a 3-0 home loss to them is not a good look for the Rapids.
13. Orlando City SC (13)
A 4-1 home win over D.C. is an expected result at this point. Maybe we are selling the Lions a little short?
14. Atlanta United (15)
A good battle saw Atlanta pull a 2-2 road tie from Cincinnati. If it weren’t for other variability, they would move up more – but they definitely have more buoyancy now.
Not Great, Not Terrible (Yes, a Chernobyl reference)
15. Chicago Fire (18)
There has been a lot of disappointment at Soldier Field this season, but a 3-1 win in Vancouver sure doesn’t hurt. In fact, this is a sign that the Fire might actually do something under Berhalter.
16. FC Dallas (19)
They won on opening day, on the road at Houston, and it appeared FCD was in good shape, but since then, it has been all pear-shaped. Until Saturday, that is, when they took advantage of a red card against RSL to find a 1-0 win on the road.
17. LA Galaxy (20)
It was not a win, but a 2-2 tie at Minnesota is a sign that maybe the Galaxy is getting their collective things in order.
18. St. Louis City SC (17)
Not great, not terrible to lose 1-0 on the road at Philadelphia.
19. San Diego FC (14)
It has been mostly the struggle bus for the expansion side since the opening win at LA. This time is was a 2-1 road loss to Austin FC.
20. Real Salt Lake (16)
FC Dallas is not good this season, so even with an early red card, RSL should have been able to hold them off. Alas, they fell 1-0 at home.
21. Austin FC (22)
Winning 2-1 at home against a somewhat ok expansion side is kind of expected.
22. Nashville SC (23)
A 3-0 home win over Montreal is not bad but CFM is not much to write home about these days.
23. Portland Timbers (26)
If we didn’t have so many disappointing results from Portland this year, a 3-0 win at Colorado would move them up significantly, but we do, so it won’t. That being said, we will watch the Timbers closely because this could be a sign of them figuring things out.
24. Houston Dynamo (25)
It has been a year for the Dynamo already. A 0-0 road draw at Seattle should give them some confidence that they may be able to pull things together.
25. San Jose Earthquakes (21)
Yikes. Turns out we were right to doubt San Jose – the early-season success was just a mirage. Clearly, they could not hang with the top tier of the league, losing 4-1 at Charlotte.
26. CF Montreal (24)
For a young team, they are getting young results. Losing to a struggling Nashville side, 3-0, isn’t helping, even if it was in Tennessee.
Awful
27. D.C. United (27)
We came into the season with doubts, and after a few abnormal results, we see that they are in fact not good. A 4-1 pasting in Florida to Orlando is definitely proof of concept.
28. New England Revolution (28)
Didn’t play and nothing around them gives us reason to move them.
29. Toronto FC (30)
They didn’t lose as bad, and lost on the road, (2-1 to the Red Bulls) as compared to Kansas City, so they move back up.
30. Sporting Kansas City (29)
Losing at home to a struggling LAFC side, 2-0, is just another moment of “how bad can this get?”.
Your Nashville SC rating is a joke. 3 victories outscoring opponents 8-1 and also having scoring come from 7 different players. Not to mention one of those results is against the Union. Calling them a “struggling Nashville” is a joke.
Not to mention you have Seattle in the top ten while half their starters have long term injury and they are struggling to get a result.