MLS Power Rankings: A new club takes the top spot
By Matt Coles
MLS Power Rankings: 12. New York Red Bulls (+1)
It was a week that did not start well for the Red Bulls, as they lost out to an expansion side, but they battled back to then defeat a recent MLS Cup winner to put three points on the board in their bid for playoff soccer.
A second-half Omir Guadalupe Fernandez Musso goal gave them the lead against Inter Miami CF, but the pink and black were able to fight back to win 2-1, courtesy of Gonzalo Higuain’s first MLS goal. A first league goal for 17-year-old Caden Clark gave the Bulls the win over Atlanta United, and that moves them up a place on our Power Rankings this week.
Over the next seven days, the side from the ‘Big Apple’ will face two tricky Eastern Conference challenges, in league-leading Toronto FC and 4th placed Orlando City. If they can get results in both, that will build confidence.
This Week’s Fixtures: @ Toronto FC (Wed 14, 7:30 pm ET), vs. Orlando City SC (Sun 18, 7 pm ET)
MLS Power Rankings: 11. Minnesota United (-1)
The Loons only featured once this week in Major League Soccer, as they had two confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 among their player pool prior to their weekend clash with FC Dallas, with which postponed.
Their lone game came against Nashville SC in midweek, but the two sides played out a goalless draw, with Minnesota seeing themselves drop outside of the top four in the Western Conference for the first time in 2020.
They will be aiming to fight their way back inside that bracket this week, as long as they are able to play their home games against Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo, but they will. Need negative tests to accomplish that this week.
This Week’s Fixtures: vs. Chicago Fire (Wed 14, 8 pm ET), vs. Houston Dynamo (Sun 18, 8 pm ET)
MLS Power Rankings: 10. Los Angeles FC (+2)
Due to COVID-19 postponements, LAFC only had one match this week, but they took full advantage of the extra break in midweek. They were scheduled to play Colorado Rapids, but the match was the third straight to postponed for the Rocky Mountains side.
Instead, they used the extra three days to prepare for the visit of the reigning MLS Cup champions, and they dealt with Seattle to perfection. A double from Danny Musovski and a second-half strike from Francisco Ginella gave them all three points from their crunch Western Conference clash.
They face the other two Cascadian Cup side this week, with trips to Vancouver and Portland on Wednesday and Sunday, respectively. LAFC currently sit in 4th in the West, occupying a home berth for the first round of the playoffs.
This Week’s Fixtures: @ Vancouver Whitecaps (Wed 14, 10 pm ET), @ Portland Timbers (Sun 18, 10 pm ET)