2025 MLS Week 6 Power Rankings

This league is just awesome, isn't it? It seems that the teams who completely drop the ball one week are playing liquid football and scoring for fun the next. But if you have paid any attention to MLS, you already knew that's how it works. The parity is what makes it so fun, but there are some teams who still can't seem to escape the deep, dark depths of a horrid roster construction. There are some teams who can't score goals, some that can't stop scoring goals and others that do both or neither. Things are started to take shape six games in, but it's still too early to truly judge a team at this point, bar a few. You know who you are. The Week 6 Power Rankings:

1. INTER MIAMI CF (-) | 2-1 W PHI

Inter Miami is the only team who has truly shown well each and every game so far, there's no argument for the top spot. Lionel Messi returned and delivered the eventual game-winner within moments. Even with a rotated lineup, Miami got the job done against Philly and reclaimed first place in the Supporters' Shield standings, a familiar sight. Dethroning IMCF will be difficult, but a CCC series with LAFC may take priority for the next couple weeks.

2. COLUMBUS CREW (+1) | 2-1 W DC

Columbus has not yet lost a game, but it's clear this isn't the same Crew side as recent years. Wilfried Nancy deserves all the respect in the world for what he has been able to do with this side. It can be argued that his three best center backs were out of the lineup, and they still defeated DC. Diego Rossi took over once again, while Max Arfsten is truly starting to blossom. The return of Steven Moreira will also be very welcomed.

3. FC CINCINNATI (+6) | 2-1 W NSH

FC Cincinnati still isn't playing up to expectations, but there's some signs that it's coming. Evander has to live on the ball, good things always happen when that's the case, whether he creates something himself, or his forced respect does. Luca Orellano is starting to look more like himself, and that can take this team to another level as well. Kevin Denkey hasn't been perfect so far, but this front three should become even more dangerous. The victory over Nashville can be credited to Roman Celentano, who saved a penalty and prevented 1.14 goals.

4. MINNESOTA UNITED (+7) | 2-0 W RSL

Minnesota cruised to a win on a day in which its star player provided nothing. Kelvin Yeboah hardly touched the ball and was unable to make anything happen, but his team had his back. Tani Oluwaseyi scored a lovely brace, while Robin Lod played an incredible match in the middle. When Bongi Hlongwane is showboating down the sideline to cap off a performance, it's a sign that it was a job well done.

5. CHARLOTTE FC (-3) | 2-0 L COL

Charlotte would be the best team in the world if all 34 games took place at Bank of America Stadium. No, seriously. This team would be atop the Supporters' Shield standings if only home games counted thus far. Unfortunately, that's not how this works, and Charlotte badly needs to figure things out on the road. Wilfried Zaha has been frustrated and opposing players are even pointing out his lack of effort when things aren't going his way. Colorado took it to Dean Smith's side at home, but luckily Charlotte plays three of the next four games in its fortress.

6. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (-) | 0-0 D TFC

Vancouver's scoreless draw with Toronto was a curious one. The opponent kind of just bogged down for the entire match and the Whitecaps were unable break it down. When they did, Sean Johnson made a save, which he did on five occasions. This result won't be one for Vancouver to look back at through any lens, it's just an ugly draw to move on from. Sebastian Berhalter played a fabulous game, though, and deserves a shout.

7. ORLANDO CITY SC (+3) | 2-1 W LA

Orlando City is impossible to figure out. It's pretty clear that the defense is not up to par, with a league-leading 12 goals against, but that might end up being okay with some slight improvements. The last two opponents have not been of great quality, but the Lions finally conceded less than two goals in a game in those contests. This win was truly handed to them, but it required intense fight, plus they count all the same.

8. PHILADELPHIA UNION (-) | 2-1 L MIA

Philadelphia took a road loss to Inter Miami, which is not much of a blemish on the resume at this point. The Union have started the season hot and this loss does not change that. Quinn Sullivan played a fantastic game in midfield with four chances created, while Daniel Gazdag got back on the scoresheet. Philly will look to bounce back in a home match against Orlando.

9. AUSTIN FC (+6) | 1-0 W STL

Austin FC is sporting the best defense in MLS. Every year, it seems a new defensive unit breaks out, and so far it's been Austin, by far. ATX has conceded just three goals all year, and in a matchup with the other stingiest defense in St. Louis, the Verde came out on top. The Brendan Hines-Ike-Oleksandr Svatok pairing has worked wonders. Brandon Vazquez still has not returned to his old form, but at least Osman Bukari and Myrto Uzuni showed up and combined for the lone goal.

10. SAN DIEGO FC (+9) | 3-2 W LAFC

San Diego is truly building something incredible. The possession play of Mikey Varas' team is more impressive each and every week, it seems impossible that this well-oiled machine has played just six games all-time. This team is anchored by the midfield trio of Jeppe Tverskov, Anibal Godoy and Luca de la Torre. Onni Valakari stepped up in a more attacking role, while Anders Dreyer continues to pull the strings. It's hard to see this upwards trend stopping anytime soon when San Diego has so much of the ball.

11. COLORADO RAPIDS (+5) | 2-0 W CLT

The Colorado Rapids could really not have come up with a better response to the skunking they suffered last week. Everything that went wrong was flipped on its head and resulted in a 2-0 win over one of the top teams in the league. Djordje Mihailovic recorded a brace in four minutes to grab the three points. Zack Steffen and the backline returned to being solid. Joshua Atencio was perfect in the center, but the Rapids are still looking for the Cole Bassett they expected entering the season.

12. NEW YORK RED BULLS (-8) | 2-1 L NE

The Red Bulls continued their Gillette Stadium woes with one of the worst losses you could possibly take in 2025 MLS. A team that had not scored a goal on their own all year absolutely dominated the game and snapped the Red Bulls' four-game unbeaten streak. The three center backs uncharacteristically struggled, especially Alexander Hack, who got torched on multiple occasions. RBNY has to do better in a fixture against Chicago.

13. ATLANTA UNITED (+2) | 4-3 W NYC

At long last, Atlanta may have figured some things out. The formula was sticking Saba Lobjanidze out on the right, with Miguel Almiron as more of an attacking midfielder and Alexey Miranchuk dropped deeper. Miranchuk played his best game of the year and scored as a No. 8, while Almiron had the same fate and scored his first goal back at the club. The defense is an obvious problem, but for now, the Five Stripes can enjoy their four-goal victory. Emmanuel Latte Lath stayed hot, but it certainly wasn't a first start to remember for Dominik Chong-Qui.

14. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (-7) | 1-1 D SJ

The Seattle Sounders are far too good for this. They now sit No. 12 in the Western Conference and have mustered a single win through six games. Sure, injuries to Pedro de la Vega, Jordan Morris and Paul Arriola are death sentences for the attack, but the Sounders are one of the best equipped teams depth-wise to deal with it. Paul Rothrock, Jesus Ferreira and Georgi Minoungou have all proved to be capable attackers, but it just hasn't worked so far. Albert Rusnak is still great of course, but the rest of his side hasn't put a good foot forward in nearly a month.

15. LAFC (-10) | 3-2 L SD

Similarly to Seattle, LAFC's roster has too much talent to be in such ugly form. Across the last five games in all competitions, LAFC has lost four of them. The lone win was against the team in dead last in these power rankings. Denis Bouanga has offered nothing this year, which is a surprising thing to say. It wasn't working on the wing, and it certainly did not work at striker against San Diego. The midfield trio had so much hope entering the year, but Igor Jesus was sent off and it hasn't gone as expected. MLS play might not get better just yet with two CCC legs against Inter Miami to prepare for this week.

16. NYCFC (-4) | 4-3 L ATL

NYCFC has certainly been one of the more inconsistent teams this season, as proven by the 2-2-2 record. The early-season schedule has been fairly grueling thus far, so a few easier matchups are on the horizon. When a team scores three goals, there's no excuse to not leave the game with three points, let alone one. Hannes Wolf and Alonso Martinez did their job on the attacking end, but Thiago Martins and Matt Freese negated much of that hard work en route to conceding four and losing.

17. CHICAGO FIRE (-) | 1-1 D MTL

Chicago Fire's current position in the table does not correlate much to their power ranking. They sit No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings at 3-1-2. The reason for this is simple, the Fire have a lot of proving themselves to do across the next two months. It's fair to say it has been a cupcake schedule so far, with the one loss coming against Columbus, and a win against Vancouver with half its team missing. A 1-1 draw at home with Montreal is not a great result, and the schedule becomes a gauntlet through May. Each and every game until June is against a quality opponent, so the prediction here is that this team will no longer be this high in the East after the upcoming slate.

18. ST. LOUIS CITY SC (-5) | 1-0 L ATX

Having a good defense is only helpful when the attack is capable of doing literally anything. For St. Louis City, this is starting to become a legit concern. This team has given up two goals, cool, but it has now been held scoreless in back-to-back games, and four times across the six games. Marcel Hartel is a great creator, but the system and players around him right now are not allowing him to thrive in his role. Simon Becher and Joao Klauss have been useless and there's a severe lack of pace going on here. Again, the backline is consistently great, but like a star MLB pitcher on a team with no bats, they're not getting any run support. At least that hasn't been a problem down the street for the Cardinals so far.

19. FC DALLAS (+1) | 2-1 W SKC

FC Dallas has won two consecutive games, albeit matchups against two of the most beatable teams in MLS. Lucho Acosta and Petar Musa still haven't fully gelled as a duo, but they did create one in the victory over Sporting Kansas City. Osaze Urhoghide is continually looking like one of the top center backs in the league and Leo Chu got himself on the board. There are plenty of issues that lie elsewhere, though, and those could be exposed in an extremely difficult five-game slate coming up versus some strong teams.

20. PORTLAND TIMBERS (+1) | 3-1 W HOU

The Portland Timbers are starting to figure some things out. Santiago Moreno's return has done wonders, while Antony is unstoppable on the other side. Felipe Mora had himself a game as well in the 3-1 win over Houston. Finn Surman and Jimer Fory have continued to show well. The Timbers are looking a whole lot better, but a test against a stout Austin defense next time out will be quite informative as to where they stand.

21. NASHVILLE SC (-3) | 2-1 L FCC

Nashville SC had its nice run of form snapped by a home loss against Cincinnati. Hany Mukhtar missed yet nother penalty and has remained one of the most disappointing players in MLS across the last two seasons, considering where he was a few years ago. Josh Bauer has been a shock scorer in back-to-back games slotted in at right back over Andy Najar. It was established in last week's rankings that tests against Cincy and an upcoming visit to Charlotte would be important. Thanks to a Walker Zimmerman handball, that first test was a fail.

22. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (+1) | 1-1 D SEA

The San Jose Earthquakes got out of their losing rut. Even though they held a lead until the 80th minute, they were lucky to leave the contest against Seattle with a point. They gave up 26 shots, but Daniel stood on his head to secure the draw. Beau Leroux scored and has looked good this year, but those wins to start the year may be some of the only fun the 'Quakes have this season. At least Cristian Espinzoa is the best chance creator in MLS. They will, however, host a winnable match against DC next weekend.

23. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (+6) | 2-1 W RBNY

Welcome to 2025, New England Revolution. Caleb Porter was likely gone if the Revs didn't grab a shock victory over the Red Bulls, and of course that's exactly what happened. Carles Gil scored a beautiful free kick and won it with a penalty, meaning New England has still not scored a goal from open play on its own accord. Peyton Miller's dynamism certainly helped, and Luca Langoni got into good positions despite his hatred for shooting the ball. A road trip to Cincy and Atlanta might not end as pretty.

24. LA GALAXY (-2) | 2-1 L ORL

LA Galaxy were within distance of a first win, within inches of a home draw against Orlando and somehow found a way to lose. This team is just not built for success without Riqui Puig, marking the sixth straight winless match for the defending champions. There has been a severe goalkeeper problem thus far, though John McCarthy has proven to be solid enough despite an absolute blunder on a Luis Muriel free kick. Christian Ramirez has been the saving grace, scoring goals in four straight games.

25. REAL SALT LAKE (-1) | 2-0 L MIN

Real Salt Lake really just doesn't have anything to be excited about. Diego Luna hasn't done a whole lot. Diogo Goncalves has been just a guy. The strong midfield of Braian Ojeda and Emeka Eneli from last year hasn't had that same bite. It also probably isn't a great sign that Sam Junqua is getting in some of the best attacking positions. RSL plays LA Galaxy next and will look to avoid being the first casualty of the struggling champions.

26. HOUSTON DYNAMO (-1) | 3-1 L POR

Similarly to RSL, it's probably not a good sign that Franco Escobar, who is playing center back right now, has been the best attacking option. Escobar playing centrally is a whole other question when Daniel Steres is starting at left back and Erik Sviatchenko has been tucked away, but this team is truly a mess. Blake Gillingham did what he could between the sticks, it sure wasn't his fault. Ezequiel Ponce is getting close to flop territory. The Dynamo have not won a game yet and will play some Los Angeles teams next.

27. CF MONTREAL (-) | 1-1 D CHI

CF Montreal's manager bump earned the squad a 1-1 draw with Chicago. It's a decent result, but Montreal is now dead last in the Eastern Conference and has zero wins. Dante Sealy scored and was active, while Luca Petrasso created the chances from left back. Mahala Opoku barely plays anymore and a ton of injuries has hurt this already bad team. Marco Donadel's team does not have greener pastures in its future.

28. TORONTO FC (+2) | 0-0 D VAN

Toronto FC played the most boring style of football possible, but it worked in the sense that a point was earned. Sean Johnson's five saves, a few of which were unreal, led TFC to a nil-nil draw against the Western Conference leaders. Each game further solidifies Lorenzo Insigne as one of the worst signings in league history. Federico Bernardeschi is tryings things, but without much help. Raoul Petretta was Toronto's best player on the day. A visit to Miami on Sunday Night Soccer should hardly be televised, let alone in primetime.

29. DC UNITED (-3) | 2-1 L CLB

DC United is a difficult team to watch. So much as passing the ball accurately is no guarantee for this side. As is customary, Christian Benteke is the only player on this team, with the fullbacks sometimes deciding to play a solid match. Joao Peglow has at least given a spark on the wing. DC passed just 80% as a team, which is just a testament to the struggles embedded in this team. The season started fine on paper against a load of bad opponents, but across the next few months, don't be surprised if DC is trying to escape the cellar of the Eastern Conference.

30. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (-2) | 2-1 L DAL

At long last, Peter Vermes is gone. It never seemed like his firing was even a possibility despite the recent years of struggle. It ended up taking just six games in 2025, ending one of the longest coaching tenures in professional soccer on planet Earth. This is already the second firing of the young season, showcasing the pressure some of these teams are already feeling. Daniel Salloi scored a nice goal in the loss to Dallas and Shapi Suleymanov has certainly given this team life at times. By no means is SKC good, but the roster has more quality than some of the other teams at the bottom. The Vermes era ends after a 243-206-124 record across 573 matches. Only time will tell what comes next.