MLS Power Rankings: Teams falter, new team lands on top
By Matt Coles
MLS Power Rankings: 3. Sporting Kansas City (-1)
They remain top of the Western Conference, but it has been a sobering seven days for Sporting Kansas City. They could only take a point from their two matches, games in which they conceded six times.
On Tuesday evening, they saw Houston Dynamo put five past them, with Alberth Elis, Christian Ramirez, and Niko Hansen scoring for the Texan side. This was before a quick-fire Darwin Quintero double secured the three points.
They then only managed a draw against Colorado Rapids at the weekend, with Gianluca Busio’s goal the lone positive from the evening. They will face Houston against, this time on the road, on Saturday, with a home game against the other Texan side, FC Dallas, before that.
This Week’s Fixtures: vs. FC Dallas (Wednesday 2, 8:30 pm ET), @ Houston Dynamo (Saturday 5, 8 pm ET)
MLS Power Rankings: 2. Columbus Crew SC (-1)
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Having sat atop both the Power Rankings and the Supporters’ Shield standings this time last week, it has been a poor seven days for Columbus Crew. They could only manage to take a single point from their two fixtures, failing to find the back of the net.
The Crew fell to their first defeat of the regular season on Monday night, as a sole Alexander Ring strike gave New York City FC a surprise victory.
The Yellow and Black then faced off against Hell is Real rivals FC Cincinnati on Saturday night, but could only muster a goalless draw.
All is not lost for Columbus, as they remain in 2nd spot in both the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings. They face an in-form Philadelphia Union side on Wednesday night, before another clash with main rivals Cincy next weekend.
This Week’s Fixtures: vs. Philadelphia Union (Wednesday 2, 7:30 pm ET), vs. FC Cincinnati (Sunday 6, 7:30 pm ET)
MLS Power Rankings: 1. Toronto FC (+2)
It has been three years since their historic treble-winning season, but Toronto FC are back at the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings. With a win this week, they have also made the move to sit in the No.1 spot on our Power Rankings this week.
The 2017 MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, and Canadian Championship winners are now the only side who remain unbeaten during the regular season, with a 5-0-3 record. Their fifth win of the campaign came this week against Montreal Impact.
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Alejandro Pozuelo scored the only goal of the game in the 50th minute, converting from 12 yards out after a penalty had been given to TFC for handball. The new table-toppers will look to continue their good form as their ‘Canadian swing’ continues this week, with a home tie against the Impact, before traveling to Vancouver at the weekend.
This Week’s Fixtures: vs. Montreal Impact (Tuesday 1, 8 pm ET), @ Vancouver Whitecaps (Saturday 5, 9:30 pm ET)