2025 MLS Week 5 Power Rankings

Week five was full of blowouts and a whole lot of goals. International duty was the Bubonic Plague for many clubs across the league, who were missing all sorts of quality players. At this early point in the year, strength of schedule and playing in other competitions plays a massive role in the current shape of the standings. Especially this week, power rankings will not always be reflected by the early-season table, but rather attempts to guage the potential of these clubs roster-wise as the season progresses. There is certainly some disrespect going on for some teams with one loss up to this point, but looming tests against high-quality teams will decide their fate for the near future. The Week 5 power rankings:

1. INTER MIAMI CF (-) | N/A

Inter Miami didn't play a game. No reason for any movement here, as the reigning Shield champions have proved to be the best team in the league across its opening four games.

2. CHARLOTTE FC (+1) | 4-1 W SJ

Charlotte FC might just be the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. The defense and goalkeeping is carrying over nicely from 2025, while the attack was prolific despite missing its striker and winger. The midfield is flowing for Charlotte and there is extremely high expectations on this team the rest of the way.

3. COLUMBUS CREW (-1) | 0-0 D NYC

Columbus Crew is missing its two best center backs in Steven Moreira and Rudy Camacho, but the defense is still on point. A few key omissions this week made things even more difficult, as a rather boring game ensued. Jacen Russell-Rowe scored a goal that was called off, but the Crew need to get more things going in the attack.

4. NEW YORK RED BULLS (+2) | 2-1 W TFC

The Red Bulls had a scare against Toronto FC with a late conceded goal and a red card, but the three points were secured. RBNY has not been perfect by any means this season, but four straight games unbeaten speak for themselves. If Emil Forsberg can keep this form and the backline remains stout, this team will be in the mix once again this year.

5. LAFC (+5) | 2-0 W SKC

LAFC bounced back in a huge way following a subpar result a week ago. Denis Bouanga's absence provided an opportunity for David Martinez, who has proved that he should probably be a starter in the limited minutes he's been provided at the club. The DP wingers make it hard to fit him in, but the 19-year-old is electric. The entire team held strong and played a technically solid game.

6. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (-2) | 3-1 W CHI

The Whitecaps were missing practically their entire team, so it's not fair to harshly judge them on their first loss of the season. The entire attack was hounded by injuries and call-ups this week, so it was a scheduled loss in many ways. Vancouver will look to get back into the win column, and almost certainly will, in Toronto on Saturday.

7. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (-) | 0-0 D HOU

The Seattle Sounders are so difficult to figure out so far. The 1-2-2 record is far from impressive, but it's fairly evident that this is one of the best teams in the West. That will come to light in the table sooner rather than later, especially with the CCC dropout. A couple of DPs are out injured, so they will need to work through that issue as well, but the depth is there. Ryan Kent is an interesting potential addition as well. Seattle surely has rave greener pastures ahead.

8. PHILADELPHIA UNION (+6) | 1-0 W STL

After a rough home loss, Philadelphia shut the noise right back up with a 1-0 victory over a previous unbreakable St. Louis City. The Ian Glavinovich winner was the first goal scored against STL on the year. Kai Wagner impresses absolutely every week. An almost entirely different XI showcased the deep bench of Philly, who were missing Daniel Gazdag and Tai Baribo in the big result.

9. FC CINCINNATI (-1) | 2-2 D ATL

FC Cincinnati's new attack has not quite found itself. Evander, who seriously has a shout for being the most talented player in Major League Soccer, had a five-minute span of magic that carried his team to a result. There are too many spells where Evander's teammates opt not to pick him out in good spots, it all needs to run through him. A brutal Alvas Powell own goal negated his work, and Cincy has work to do on both ends.

10. ORLANDO CITY SC (+5) | 4-1 W DC

Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic are enjoying life in Orlando thus far. The goals pour in early nad often, as the Lions have scored a league-high 13 goals in 2025. Luis Muriel has scored some goals, but his league-leading eight big chances missed are somewhat concerning, but also demonstrate the sheer amount of chances Orlando can create.

11. MINNESOTA UNITED (-) | 2-2 D LA

Minnesota United played without Robin Lod, Tani Oluwaseyi and Dayne St. Clair, but the win still had to be secured. Kelvin Yeboah has cemented himself as one of the best strikers in MLS since arriving last summer. He scored an 87th minute penalty that had to hold up as the winner, so the Loons will be very disappointed about giving up a 90th minute equalizer to a faltering LA Galaxy.

12. NYCFC (-) | 0-0 D CLB

Alonso Martinez is so incredibly important to this attack, it's truly lost without him. NYCFC did not attempt a shot on target and hardly laid eyes on the opposing goal. In that sense, a road draw is a great result. Matt Freese has continued his fabulous form from last year, and this team is off to a solid start, but it's pretty clear the lineup needs one more new spark.

13. ST. LOUIS CITY SC (-4) | 1-0 L PHI

St. Louis City was neutralized in every way on its trip to Chester, Pa. Marcel Hartel was completely taken out of the game, while Eduard Lowen's frustration turned into two yellow cards in 11 minutes. All the positives from the first four games went out the window, including the defensive effort. But, it's just one off match, and they will get back to work at home against Austin on Sunday.

14. AUSTIN FC (+3) | 2-1 W SD

Austin FC is one of those teams that currently place highly in the standings through five games, but what does that really mean at this point? If there's one thing to be sure about in Austin, it's the elite defense. The backline has not conceded more than a single goal in a game this year. The issues have been at the opposite end, where Brandon Vazquez has squandered chances left and right, though he finally got one in the win over San Diego.

15. ATLANTA UNITED (-2) | 2-2 D FCC

Emmanuel Latte Lath is good. He scores goals and he tracks back 50 yards to put in a crunching ball-winning challenge. The issue is that no one else is putting in the same effort. It's a weekly occurence at this point to say that Alexey Miranchuk really just is not good, at least in this system. Injuries and absences have riddled Atlanta so far, so things are still looking up with a full-strength XI.

16. COLORADO RAPIDS (-11) | 3-0 L POR

Cole Bassett said it himself, the 3-0 loss to Portland was one of the worst home losses the Rapids have endured in some time. This might be the steepest drop for a team during the whole season. Colorado was simply played off its home pitch by a previously fairly harmless Portland after starting the season on a promising note. It's been established that Kevin Cabral is not an MLS-caliber DP and questions are still to be asked of Rafael Navarro, despite last year's scoring form. The Rapids need to regroup and iron out the wrinkles.

17. CHICAGO FIRE (+2) | 3-1 W VAN

Chicago Fire has gone on the road for three consecutive games and won all three. So why are they all the way down here? There are serious concerns to be had about the stability of the defense and midfield, who have consistently handed goals away to the opposition. The past four games should not be discredited, but the schedule was weak, and the Fire had the benefit of playing Vancouver without its best players. Rominigue Kouame has a chance to settle things down, but the real schedule begins in April, where Chicago will play an absolute guantlet of Eastern Conference teams. That stretch will be the litmus test.

18. NASHVILLE SC (+2) | 3-0 W MTL

Nashville SC is beginning to turn things in its favor, with three straight victories including eight goals scored in total. Hany Mukhtar is starting to recover some of his form, but he can still reach higher levels. More importantly, Walker Zimmerman's backline has been immense. Nashville has two big matchups with FC Cincinnati and Charlotte FC on tap. This team is a bit low based on the current resume, but these two matches will be very informative on this team's legitimacy.

19. SAN DIEGO FC (-3) | 2-1 L ATX

The newest club in the league is off to an impressive 2-1-2 start. San Diego's ability to play in possession is unreal, like nothing else seen before from an expansion side. Mikey Varas' side has outpossessed every opponent thus far. The loss to Austin showed that possession, though, does not win games on its own. On paper, this team still does not have a whole lot of firepower and will struggle to generate a whole lot of goals outside of Anders Dreyer. But, the same things were said about St. Louis in 2023, so only time will tell with SD. LAFC and Seattle are up next.

20. FC DALLAS (+5) | 1-0 W RSL

FC Dallas put together a solid clean sheet performance to defeat Real Salt Lake, but it helped that Ariath Piol was sent off in the early minutes. Luciano Acosta extended the missed peanlty woes, but did end up scoring a header, which was not the first headed goal of the 5-foot-3 attacking midfielder's career. Petar Musa needs to get back in the scoring column, but the win is a step forward ahead of a looming should-be victory against Sporting Kansas City.

21. PORTLAND TIMBERS (+5) | 3-0 W COL

The Portland Timbers were the shock of week five, taking the game against Colorado by the horns and refusing to let up. David da Costa came alive in this one and showed flashes of his chance creating potential. Finn Surman has been fantastic in the back. Portland is starting to get players back from injury, most notably Santiago Moreno and Juan Mosquera, Jonathan Rodriguez is the last crucial missing piece. The Timbers showed serious improvements in every aspect of the win and will get a crack at Sunday Night Soccer next week.

22. LA GALAXY (-) | 2-2 D MIN

The beauty of Major League Soccer, the defending champions have not registered a win through five games. The two consecutive draws are an improvement of the losses prior. Christian Ramirez has now saved this team in back-to-back games with late goals. There's truly not a whole lot of positives to take from the Galaxy right now, and you can only wish them the best of luck against Mexican powerhouses Tigres in the CCC.

23. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (-5) | 4-1 L CLT

Life was good in San Jose, for a few days. The Earthquakes have collapsed right back into their 2024 form in the last three weeks. All that was to be excited about has disappeared, though the exciting new attack did generate 2.7 xG. Cristian Espinoza has been in the elite tier of chance creators, and he continued that with 11 more in the loss. It's up to Chicho Arango to finish those off now.

24. REAL SALT LAKE (-3) | 1-0 L DAL

Real Salt Lake won a couple of games, but this lineup is still one of the least convincing league-wide. The striker problem is evident, especially considering one of them was sent off. Rafael Cabral has been a huge addition in between the pipes, but it's not looking too pretty anywhere else at the moment.

25. HOUSTON DYNAMO (-1) | 0-0 D SEA

Houston sure knows how to kill a game, it just doesn't know how to win one. This team has gone on the road and secured two scoreless draws with top opponents. In those games, they concede very few chances and create even less of their own. The other three games were rough losses. Those 0-0 draws can only get a team so far. Perhaps new signing Ondrej Lingr can help.

26. DC UNITED (-3) | 4-1 L ORL

Christian Benteke has now been off the score sheet for two consecutive weeks, so it's no surprise that neither game ended in a DC United victory. He still grabbed a consolation assist thanks to his aerial dominance. DC's squad just isn't built for the current competition of MLS, there's a severe lack of speed and dynamism.

27. CF MONTREAL (-) | 3-0 L NSH

Laurent Courtois is out as CF Montreal head coach. The firing came just five games into the season, albeit five bad games. With that being said, he brought the team to the play-in last year and was managing a squad that has spent $0 on Designated Players in the past decade. No matter who is coaching this team, a team without DPs is not going to win games in 2025.

28. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (-) | 2-0 L LAFC

Sporting Kansas City endured a 2-0 defeat at home against LAFC. There's not a whole lot to take from this game, besides the fact that LAFC are just a better team, despite missing some key pieces. Peter Vermes has started all sorts of different players, but there is no consistency in the squad. If we've learned anything from history, Vermes is still not on the hot seat.

29. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (-) | N/A

The New England Revolution were ommitted from the week five schedule, so in turn, they did not drop any spots. This could be good news, perhaps the best of the season. Caleb Porter surely is destined for a Laurent Courtois departure soon, but signs aren't exactly pointing there from the organization.

30. TORONTO FC (-) | 2-1 L RBNY

Another week, another Toronto FC in dead last. It's difficult to keep finding things to say about TFC. Lorenzo Insigne was shockingly included in the lineup. It was not shocking, however, that he did absolutely nothing on the pitch. On the bright side, Deandre Kerr has goals in back-to-back contests.