2025 MLS Week 20 Power Rankings

The Week 20 Power Rankings:

1. NASHVILLE SC (+1) | 3-0 W CLB, 1-0 W TFC

Nashville SC didn't spend long away from the top, thanks to their star scorer in Sam Surridge. A very confident win over Columbus solidifed Nashville as the most consistent team in the East right now, they are playing at a high level from positions one to eleven. When Hany Mukhtar and Surridge get going, everyone else just needs to fall into place and provide ample support.

2. FC CINCINNATI (+5) | 3-0 W MIA, 1-0 W RSL

A shocking 3-0 victory over Inter Miami was a massive step for a Cincinnati team that couldn't beat anyone by multiple goals, let alone the hottest version of Lionel Messi since he arrived in MLS. It was a huge morale booster, as was Luca Orellano's late curler to defeat Real Salt Lake. Orellano has had a rough go at it this year, but that had to have felt good. Evander continues pulling the strings but will probably have a hard time holding on to that potential MVP trophy.

3. INTER MIAMI CF (-2) | 3-0 L FCC, 5-1 W RBNY

Miami was humbled for a few days before turning back into the humblers. After conceding first in classic Inter Miami fashion, the Herons hit back with five straight goals. It wasn't even Messi at the start of the run, but Telasco Segovia. Eventually, Messi got his brace that he has completed in every game recently besides the midweek embarrassment in Cincy. Still with games in hand, Miami is lurking in the shadows and inching closer to the top of the conference.

4. PHILADELPHIA UNION (+1) | 2-1 W MTL, 1-1 D HOU

Philly won a game it had to against CF Montreal late, but it was far from a convincing week of soccer. A poor lineup and an ensuing poor performance against Houston led former player Jack McGlynn to put on a performance of revenge after netting a penalty. The Union haven't found a ton of consistency in the attacking lineup and rotated a ton for rest, but they're going to have to step up if they want to compete with the other four elite Eastern Conference teams.

5. COLUMBUS CREW (-2) | 3-0 L NSH, 2-1 W DC

Columbus' week was also unconvincing, but there's a reason the top five teams are all from the East, this conference is just far more competitive. A 3-0 loss to Nashville proved that and certainly came as a surprise to the Crew. They had some unlikely scorers in a win over DC United—Daniel Gazdag has become an unlikely scorer at this point since disappearing to Columbus, though he finally made his return to his favorite penalty spot. They're still in a good spot and they've made some moves in the transfer window already, they clearly needed more players in this team.

6. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (+4) | 3-0 W HOU, 1-1 D SD

The Vancouver Whitecaps are figuring it back out again. Brian White needs to figure out where he left his shooting boots, though, because it was a crime to leave the San Diego game with just one point. Vancouver sold Pedro Vite and will now solely rely on Sebastian Berhalter for the creation out of the midfield. The Whitecaps have some decent depth but with Ryan Gauld out for such a mysterious extended period of time, scooping up one of the players they've previously been linked with wouldn't hurt.

7. SAN DIEGO FC (-3) | 1-0 L TFC, 1-1 D VAN

San Diego's 1-0 loss to Toronto is just a horrific one to take. There was plenty of talk about the referees, but at the end of the day the supposed top team in the West should be able to put at least one past one of the worst teams leaguewide regardless. They battled with Vancouver but probably should've lost that game as well. Again, the West is clearly the inferior conference this year and San Diego will be just fine as a result.

8. LOS ANGELES FC (+1) | 1-0 W MIN, 3-3 D LA

Steve Cherundolo should be ashamed of himself after choking a 3-1 lead to end El Trafico in a tie score. A clean sheet and win against Minnesota United was a sign that this team was finally going to make its rise as a roster capable of winning the conference. Instead, they regressed to a bad draw even after Denis Bouanga posted an incredible performance.

9. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (-1) | 3-3 D COL, 3-2 W SJ

The Sounders' defense is an absolute trainwreck. They just can't stop conceding goals. They're lucky Albert Rusnak had one of the best weeks of his life because he saved the defense's butt with his success going forward. Guys just seem to be in and out of the backline with suspensions and injuries, Jackson Ragen missed the win over San Jose thanks to yellow card accumulation. Jordan Morris is back hurt yet again, but they do have the depth to deal with it, especially when Danny Musovski gets hot. The meltdown against Colorado is just inexcusable.

10. MINNESOTA UNITED (-4) | 1-0 L LAFC, 1-1 D POR

Minnesota United is beginning their slide. The way they play just isn't sustainable in this league, but it's gotten them this far. On most occassions, it's not very fun to watch the Loons play soccer. They play for throw ins close to goal and set pieces around the box. Otherwise, they sit back and spectate the opposition passing the ball around as if its warmups. Are teams starting to figure out how to beat it? Maybe, but that is only going to make for more boring chess match games. Joaquin Pereyra has gradually become less involved and the lack of continuity up top is a huge issue.

11. CHARLOTTE FC (+2) | 2-1 W DC, 3-2 W ATL

Welcome back, Charlotte FC. They're very much into the fold with a bunch of wins stacked on top of each other. The competition hasn't been great, but wins are wins for a team that wants to be in that second tier of quality in the East at this point—that entails the sixth to ninth playoff spots. Pep Biel is back on a tear and Idan Toklomati is a solid striker. If Charlotte can start establishing more of the defensive presence they used to have, nothing's out of the question.

12. ORLANDO CITY SC (-1) | 2-1 L NYC, 2-1 W NE

Orlando City's meltdown and loss to NYCFC was genuinely unbelievable. It seemed like they were coasting to the end, only to give up insane counter attacks and have no defenders back to lose the game. That loss hurt a whole lot, but Martin Ojeda was able to visit Foxboro and take three points there. Ojeda was all over the New England defense with the help of Eduard Atuesta, and the Lions got back in the win column.

13. NEW YORK CITY FC (-1) | 2-1 W ORL, 1-1 D SKC

NYCFC earned an absolute robbery of a win in Orlando and it was such an important one to have. They're fighting for their life every week in an incredibly competitive conference and every point counts, let alone turning zero into three in a few minutes' time. The 1-1 draw with SKC was disappointing because they held the lead for so long, but they couldn't hold on long enough to make it two away wins on the week.

14. NEW YORK RED BULLS (-1) | 5-3 W NE, 5-1 L MIA

Five goals for, five goals against in the two games this week, respectively. After going down 2-0 in New England, the Red Bulls roared back with five straight goals to grab a crucial win in the playoff race. Unfortunately for them, Messi seems to love playing against them more than any other team and Miami absolutely destroyed them, continuing the trend of Miami blowing out the Red Bulls.

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS (-) | 1-0 L RSL, 1-1 D MIN

The Portland Timbers aren't a very good team, but they'll be okay in the playoff race. The forwards really haven't made their mark compared to last year. The wingers provide a lot and the double pivot is solid enough, but it's just not a great collective team effort at the moment. A draw with Minnesota isn't a bad result, as Omir Fernandez smashed home the equalizer in that one. Portland's injury bug has really made life difficult for them.

16. CHICAGO FIRE (+4) | 2-2 D ATL, 2-0 W MTL

Chicago Fire is still in the hunt after a four-point week. Hugo Cuypers is still scoring goals and there's been a consistent attacking threat for the Fire all season. Brian Gutierrez has been a tad on-and-off throughout. Chicago defeated Montreal 2-0 to get back into the win column and look for a push as the season dwindles.

17. REAL SALT LAKE (-) | 1-0 W POR, 1-0 L FCC

Real Salt Lake was on a fabulous run until Orellano was allowed to shoot from distance with the clock waning. RSL was winning games and squeaking out results with stout defense, but not this time around. Diego Luna has yet to contribute to a goal since returning from the USMNT. Diogo Goncalves has stepped up and is becoming the player he was supposed to be, the midfield is back playing well and the defense is good enough for RSL to make a push for a play-in spot, or better.

18. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (-2) | 2-2 D DAL, 3-2 L SEA

The San Jose Earthquakes are slipping. It's been a consistent middling season, but they're starting to fall below the median now. It feels like forever since they last won a game with all the drawing they've been doing lately. They tied Dallas at home in a bad result, especially being a game they probably should've lost. They then did lose to Seattle despite scoring the first goal. It's no surprise that this defense is having mental breakdowns considering how bad it was last year.

19. COLORADO RAPIDS (-) | 3-3 D SEA

The Colorado Rapids have now been on the end of a 3-0 comeback in both directions as of late. This time, they scored three straight goals to force a draw against Seattle. A bunch of penalties gifted to the Rapids allowed them to put Mihailovic back at the spot, but Cole Bassett also got a look in what has been a horrendous season for him thus far. The Rapids should be a playoff team at this rate.

20. AUSTIN FC (+2) | 2-1 W LA

Austin also hopes to be a playoff team, and if Myrto Uzuni can follow up his first good game with more it will become a whole lot easier. He finally got going, with the help of Owen Wolff and the speed of Osman Bukari. Defensive performances have been completed all year by this Austin team, but the problem has always been scoring goals. With Brandon Vazquez out for the year, the Verde can put out some different looks in the attack.

21. HOUSTON DYNAMO (-3) | 3-0 L VAN, 1-1 D PHI

Jack McGlynn made it known how he felt about his departure from Philadelphia as Houston grabbed a solid 1-1 result against Philadelphia. Losing 3-0 to Vancouver was not solid midweek and it was certainly a match to forget. The Dynamo had some joy going, but that has since vanished and it's going to have to be McGlynn putting this team on his back if they want to make the playoffs, and it would be surprising if he stuck around in Houston a whole lot longer.

22. FC DALLAS (+4) | 2-2 D SJ, 3-0 W STL

Petar Musa completed one of the best weeks any player has had all season. He scored four goals and assisted another as he finally is rounding into the form he was in a year ago. He's now over double-digit goals all of a sudden. Luciano Acosta might as well depart the club with the way they've been playing better without him. He's been such a disappointment for this team. Dallas is letting the youth play and looking to develop players all across the pitch, and this week it put them in a much better position in the table.

23. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (-) | 1-1 D NYC

Sporting Kansas City stole a point off NYCFC thanks to Daniel Salloi. It was their only game this week. There isn't a whole lot else to say about this team, they had their moments recently and a draw with New York City earned them a solid point, but the upcoming gauntlet of a schedule predicts SKC falling out of the picture and well short of the postseason.

24. TORONTO FC (-) | 1-0 W SD, 1-0 L NSH

Toronto FC has put together some really, really good wins, including a 1-0 victory over San Diego. It's been helpful to have Richie Laryea back in the fold. Theo Corbeanu has been extremely good and scored the match winner against SDFC. There's certainly been a more positive energy about Toronto since they became a DP-less squad, and they can try to build towards 2026.

25. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (-4) | 5-3 L RBNY, 2-1 L ORL

Caleb Porter, where do we start. He was in pure awe that his team had the capability of turning a 2-0 lead into a 5-3 loss, but if he took a step back from the eyes of a fan, it wouldn't be all that hard to imagine. Leo Campana isn't going to find consistency in this system. It just isn't built for the players the Revs have to force a five back every game on end. When they switched to a 4-2-3-1 at halftime, it seemed like New England actually had ideas and were inspiring going forward, but the stubborn Porter—who somehow retains his job with one win in 14 games—will likely just revert to his own lunatic thoughts.

26. LA GALAXY (+1) | 2-1 L ATX, 3-3 D LAFC

LA Galaxy deserves a ton of respect for refusing to go down easily in El Trafico. They're obviously playing for nothing at this point, but every rivalry means just a little more and climbing the mountain of a 3-1 deficit on the road in the biggest regular season game of the year, it's cool to see. Gabriel Pec scored a brace and he and Joseph Paintsil are back to the winger duo they're supposed to be. Marco Reus has remained productive. The Galaxy should be good next year with some changes.

27. CF MONTREAL (-2) | 2-1 L PHI, 2-0 L CHI

CF Montreal is just a lost cause of a team and there's literally nothing to say about them that hasn't already been said. Hennadii Synchuk is the only excitement on the pitch for Montreal, it's just a lineup filled with no energy otherwise. Prince Owusu has really had the only good moments this year.

28. ST. LOUIS CITY SC (-) | 3-0 L DAL

St. Louis took another beatdown, this time to FC Dallas. The poor Marcel Hartel has been giving it everything all year, but it's just a team that is too far gone. The midfield is just abysmal and the attackers need a complete overhaul, this team is in the mud for 2025.

29. ATLANTA UNITED (+1) | 2-2 D CHI, 3-2 L CLT

For a while, it felt like the Atlanta United turnaround was just bound to happen. It never did. The $22m fee for Emmanuel Latte Lath finally turned into an open play goal, in consolation fashion during the 3-2 loss to Charlotte. At least they're still turning out good crowds at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but with the on-field product it's kind of hard to figure out why.

30. DC UNITED (-1) | 2-0 L LA, 2-1 L CLB

DC United enters the cellar after losing two games this week. Christian Benteke got back to heading the ball into the net, but per usual, it had no consequences. Aaron Herrera was sent off and set the world record for the fastest shower after being sent off, probably, with the speed in which he sprinted off the field. It's a good piece of symbolism, anyone that has to play for the dumpster fire that is DC United likely just yearn for the moment in which they can exit the field and earn their paycheck.