2025 MLS Week 8 Power Rankings

In Week 8, Major League Soccer had 11 clean sheets, surpassing the 10 of last week. This season goes out to those who say MLS has no defense, I suppose. The usual high-scoring antics have been a rarer find, but that does not mean there were no instances this week. Just under a quarter through the season, this is where the shape of the league is really starting to take shape and the table starts to mean something. Of course, so much can change from now until the summer, and then until the end of the season, but the good teams are showing themselves and the frauds are doing the same. There are some extremely spicy matchups to indulge in next week, so let's have a look at where things currently stand. The Week 8 Power Rankings:

1. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (+4) | 5-1 W ATX

At this point, the Vancouver Whitecaps are the only team that is worthy of gracing the top spot in the rankings, based on both their MLS and CCC play. It might be easy to forget that the Whitecaps are without Ryan Gauld, Sam Adekugbe, Mathias Laborda and Jayden Nelson, but they've done this without starters for a solid stretch now. Brian White dropped four goals against Austin FC on his own, which is more than Austin had given up for the season previously. Vancouver continues its incredible dominance in MLS play, which has put it on top of the Supporters' Shield standings, while advancing to a CCC semifinal against Inter Miami.

2. COLUMBUS CREW (-) | 2-1 W STL

The Columbus Crew are all alone atop the Eastern Conference after defeating St. Louis City 2-1 on the road. The match was not always pretty, as Joao Klauss scored early and maybe should have had another one later on. Max Arfsten picked out Steven Moreira for a lovely defender-made goal, while Diego Rossi put the winner in from distance. The Crew have their entire team back, leaving Wilfried Nancy with tons of options at his disposal, especially defensively. Daniel Gazdag came on for his debut at halftime and as expected, fit right into the team and almost scored his first goal in the dying moments. Any doubts about Columbus are quickly fading.

3. INTER MIAMI CF (-2) | 0-0 D CHI

Inter Miami has still not lost a game, but the last two MLS matches were draws that felt like a loss. Lionel Messi struck the crossbar on two separate efforts and Luis Suarez missed the mark from close range, but there was not a whole lot of other action going forward for the visitors at Soldier Field. Oscar Ustari played out of his mind with seven saves in net. The performance was far more lackluster than the usual high-octane attack of Miami. This side will enter the CCC semifinals against the Vancouver Whitecaps in a couple of weeks, but first, a matchup with Columbus Crew looms.

4. FC CINCINNATI (-1) | 1-0 W ORL

FC Cincinnati still has not hit its stride in the attack, and it sits here at No. 4. Evander has missed games with some lingering concerns, and Cincy could really use him back. Luca Orellano provides a bit of a spark in his absence, but he hasn't quite hit the same form he saw last year yet. Kevin Denkey has been fairly uninspiring at the striker position, and it took a Gerardo Valenzuela individual effort to score the all-important winner at DC United. The return of Matt Miazga and eventually both Obinna Nwobodo and Evander will make this team far more dangerous. There's still plenty of room for improvement as this side just seems to be grinding out wins at the moment, which isn't the worst thing in the world either.

5. MINNESOTA UNITED (-1) | 0-0 D TFC

Minnesota United was unable to do anything against Toronto FC, playing to a scoreless draw with one shot on goal. Kelvin Yeboah has had a rough three-game stretch and Tani Oluwaseyi did nothing either this time around. Joseph Rosales and Joaquin Pereyra remained active in the chance creation department, but the opponent's game plan was clear and kept the Loons off the scoresheet for the first time in a long time. Still, it's a seven-game unbeaten streak for Minnesota, who currently sit second in the Western Conference.

6. CHARLOTTE FC (-) | 1-0 W MTL

At long last, Charlotte FC did something on the road, despite probably not deserving to. The first game at Stade Saputo in 2025 went the way of the visitors, thanks to Pep Biel. Biel has been one of the MVP frontrunners thus far and has picked up the slack whenever his team has needed it. Adilson Malanda held strong on the backline to help keep the clean sheet. The Crown has left some to be desired with individual performances, but second place through the first eight games will certainly do for now.

7. COLORADO RAPIDS (+6) | 3-2 W SD

The roller coaster ride of the Colorado Rapids' 2025 season continues. The entire season has just been a whole bunch of confusion with not many explanatory trends. Djordje Mihailovic's side defeated the red-hot San Diego FC in a chaotic 3-2 fashion. At the moment, the Rapids sit fifth in the West and want to establish a bit more consistency in their results. Darren Yapi made his first start of the season over Kevin Cabral and rewarded Chris Armas with a goal. Cole Bassett finally played a great game and was seen in a more attacking role. Rafael Navarro had himself a day as well and scored the winner with a great celebration. Now, the Rapids need to string some results together.

8. ORLANDO CITY SC (-) | 0-0 D RBNY

Perhaps the most shocking fact league-wide is that Orlando City has not scored or been scored on for two straight games. It was not surprising that Orlando was scoring goals at such a high rate with the attacking firepower it has, but the defensive incompetence was fairly shocking. Those are now balancing out, though the Lions have still scored the third-most goals and conceded the eighth-most after back-to-back 0-0's. Despite the draw, Martin Ojeda was incredible once again, creating six chances and playing a fantastic game. The lack of Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo has hurt the midfield's prowess. A Rodrigo Schlegel red card forced Orlando to play smart and hold onto the point, marking its fifth straight game unbeaten.

9. SAN DIEGO FC (-2) | 3-2 L COL

Even in a loss, San Diego impressed. Once again, possession was rampant, but the Colorado Rapids got the better of the expansion side in the tactical matchup. SDFC's backline struggled and the midfield was not as effective as usual. Jeppe Tverskov played his worst game of the season in the middle as a result of the increased pressure. Luca de la Torre scored a beautiful goal and Hirving Lozano stayed busy. Tomas Angel grabbed his first goal at the club late in the loss. A difficult visit to Bank of America Stadium and Charlotte FC will take place next weekend.

10. PORTLAND TIMBERS (+6) | 4-2 W SKC

The Portland Timbers have seen an exponential rise across the last month, going unbeaten in their last five games and winning three of them. The Timbers dropped four goals on Sporting Kansas City on the road. The win was facilitated by David Ayala and Kevin Kelsy. They still need to figure out their best lineup, especially with the striker situation, but Kelsy staked his claim to be the starter with a brace. Ayala strung everything together in the middle and scored a goal. His attempt to score another resulted in an assist to Kelsy. David da Costa played his best game in a Portland shirt, creating four chances and grabbing an assist, but he did leave the match with two big chances missed. James Pantemis saved yet another penalty, putting him at 3-of-4 on the season. Everything is going the way of the Timbers right now ahead of two Los Angeles fixtures.

11. PHILADELPHIA UNION (-2) | 1-0 L NYC

The Philadelphia Union silenced the doubters early in the season, but those concerns have returned across the last three weeks. The Union are winless in those matches, losing twice and scoring once. Life without Daniel Gazdag will be strange, and it seems that it's up to Indiana Vassilev to fill the void. Kai Wagner returned from injury and had a fantastic game, while Quinn Sullivan created five chances. The attack just feels a bit too one-dimensional right now. For example, Wagner and Sullivan combined for 25 crosses. Balls are being whipped into the box with no real intent. The Union need to settle things down and be a tad more patient. The 1-0 loss to NYCFC was not a good showing overall, and Philly will return home to play Atlanta in a crucial game that commands a better performance.

12. NEW YORK RED BULLS (-1) | 0-0 D ORL

When it comes to fun, the New York Red Bulls certainly aren't the team to look out for. They are one of just four teams in the league to have both single digit numbers in the categories of goals for and against. They have been pretty average and are really missing the presence of Lewis Morgan up top. Even when Orlando went down a man, the Red Bulls created nothing and finished the game with a single shot on target. Eric Choupo-Moting hardly touched the ball all day. Carlos Coronel made all four saves he had to make on 1.22 xGOT, while Dylan Nealis and Noah Eile did well defensively. The Red Bulls gained a point in a scoreless draw, but it hasn't been convincing as of late. Two extremely winnable games at Sports Illustrated Stadium lie on the horizon.

13. AUSTIN FC (-3) | 5-1 L VAN

After conceding three goals in seven games, Austin FC finally collapsed. The lack of anything else besides a stout defense finally caught up to the Verde and Black, albeit against the top scoring team in Major League Soccer, to the tune of five goals conceded and four to one player. It was an absolute nightmare for Brendan Hines-Ike and Julio Cascante, while Brad Stuver cannot be blamed for too much with his six saves. Stuver gets bonus points for carrying a rat off the pitch mid-game. Brandon Vazquez and Myrto Uzuni remained unable to score goals, they've produced just one each. Dani Pereira's lovely strike at the death was a consolation prize for a massive hiccup of a match.

14. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (+3) | 1-0 W DAL

At long last, the Seattle Sounders are back in the win column. After five straight winless games across all competitions, Danny Musovski's easy rebound won them a game. It was more of what we've grown to expect from the Sounders, conceding zero shots on target to FC Dallas and leaving Stefan Frei with nothing to do. Obed Vargas gave Seattle exactly what it needed centrally and nearly left the game with a game of his own. Pedro de la Vega was the same story, as his shot hit off the post. He was much better in his one half and avoided picking up any further injuries, though he was hooked with a minutes restriction. Jackson Ragen left the game with a hamstring injury, so that's a concern. This Seattle team is far too good to be this poor, so this should be a sign of things to come.

15. LAFC (+3) | 2-1 W SJ

Similarly to Seattle, LAFC has struggled greatly in the first quarter of the 2025 campaign. After a dramatic elimination from the CCC, full focus can be put on MLS play. Denis Bouanga finally scored a goal, something that was just waiting to happen. He also completed seven of his 13 dribble attempts. Olivier Giroud does not have the ability to score goals anymore it seems, but there's other options up top. Ryan Hollingshead played a perfect defensive game in the 2-1 win over the Earthquakes. Maxime Chanot had not played a single minute prior the match and stepped in to start and put in a great shift, showcasing the depth of this side. There are more wins in the near future for LAFC.

16. NYCFC (+3) | 1-0 W PHI

New York City FC overturned a rough stretch of games with a clean 1-0 victory over Philadelphia. Mitja Ilenic played a perfectly weighted ball in behind for Alonso Martinez, who made Andrew Rick look silly and placed the lone goal into the wide open net. Keaton Parks and Jonathan Shore did a good job of controlling the game and keeping NYCFC's shape. Maxi Moralez had a pretty tough go at it and was denied any real opportunities to make something happen. There are still tons of concerns about the lack of attacking consistency outside of the prolific Martinez, but those can be tabled until next Saturday's visit to rematch New England.

17. NASHVILLE SC (+4) | 2-1 W RSL

Nashville SC got back into the win column in a game it had to win. Somehow, this team just keeps getting penalty kicks. Nashville has been awarded five penalties, while no other team has even reached four. The funniest part is that the majority of those have been missed, but Sam Surridge made no mistake this time after Hany Mukhtar handed him the ball in stoppage time. Nashville probably should have held a lead prior to the late penalty, as the team generated chances all day long. Eddi Tagseth returned to form with a fabulous game in midfield. The fullbacks provided good width and Daniel Lovitz scored the equalizer from his left back position. Nashville will fly west to face the Seattle Sounders in an intriguing matchup next Saturday.

18. CHICAGO FIRE (+2) | 0-0 D MIA

The Chicago Fire have had plenty of defensive concerns, but when it came to playing the best player in the history of the sport, those concerns disappeared. There is little doubt that the Fire were the better team in the 0-0 draw with Miami. Chris Brady continued to make his case for the national team, but Miami did not create many chances outside of Lionel Messi's crossbar hits. Brian Gutierrez created four chances and took four shots, one of which he had a prime opportunity to score in his return from injury. Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel were promising on the wings, while Dje Davilla came in for his debut. Chicago will be happy with the result but will rue the missed chances that kept the game tied.

19. ATLANTA UNITED (-7) | 1-0 L NE

Atlanta United's post-pandemic fall from grace has only continued. Each year, the new signings and big-money players excite people league-wide, only for the same disappointment to ensue. To be fair, Atlanta was robbed of a Miguel Almiron goal in an incredibly controversial decision, only for its star man in Emmanuel Latte Lath to concede a penalty on the other end. That is still not an excuse to lose to the New England Revolution at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Latte Lath had six shot attempts and should have left the game with at least one goal. Ronny Deila's team would be much better with a slight tweak in positioning, but he seems too stubborn and the fanbase is turning on him. Almiron should be playing as a No. 10, his free-roaming tendencies has left the wing empty and kept Alexey Miranchuk quiet. Atlanta looked best with Miranchuk playing a bit deeper. Difficult visits to Philadelphia and Orlando are next.

20. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (-6) | 2-1 L LAFC

The San Jose Earthquakes were high on life a week ago, but that dissipated in a 2-1 loss to LAFC. Cristian Espinoza beat Hugo Lloris at his near post on a pass from Josef Martinez, who touched the ball just 22 times at striker. Rodrigues came out early, but he was perhaps the best player on the field for the Quakes, winning 14 out of his 17 duels, intercepting three passes and completing three tackles. Daniel left the game with an injury early in the first half, and the dropoff to substitute keeper Earl Edwards Jr. was quite noticeable. In fact, Edwards essentially gave the game away. The Earthquakes have had some exciting moments this season, but Bruce Arena's team still isn't one of the better ones in the Western Conference.

21. FC DALLAS (-6) | 1-0 L SEA

FC Dallas took an ugly 1-0 loss to Seattle after a solid run of games. Things got worse when Petar Musa was stretchered off, but it's only an ankle sprain and likely won't be as bad as the initial scene seemed. Osaze Urhoghide has been phenomenally consistent, while Nolan Norris had another good day at left back. Kaick saw yellow and was not great in his first start. The same concerns have been present for FC Dallas since the preseason, Luciano Acosta cannot do this alone. The next three weeks will be very ugly. Dallas fans should cover their eyes for the upcoming road trip to Minnesota, Miami and San Diego.

22. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (+5) | 1-0 W ATL

The New England Revolution have still not scored a goal from open play, yet they've got two wins and seven points. On paper, that works out on in their favor, especially with the reintroductions of Tomas Chancalay and Leo Campana. Campana somehow forgot to shoot on a breakaway run in his return, so that certainly will leave a bad taste in the mouth of Revs fans until he actually scores. Chancalay only played 12 minutes and was careful as he eased back into the sport. Carles Gil is still carrying this team on his back, as he slotted his penalty kick with immense precision. Brayan Ceballos was absolutely everywhere in a new three-back formation for Caleb Porter's side. Aljaz Ivacic made five incredible saves to earn the clean sheet, while Tanner Beason and Mamadou Fofana helped secure the shocking 1-0 win at Atlanta. New England has a chance to keep things rolling in an early rematch with NYCFC.

23. REAL SALT LAKE (-1) | 2-1 L NSH

Real Salt Lake may have a new striker on the way in Robert Bozenik, and that is the most important news around the club right now. RSL found an early goal in Nashville through Dominik Marczuk and Diogo Goncalves, but that was about it. Jesus Barea thought he scored his first goal since being drafted, but VAR ruled it out and that was the end for the visitors. Rafael Cabral prevented 1.34 goals on his five saves, while Brayan Vera made some huge challenges and Justen Glad did well next to him. Emeka Eneli played well, but the individual performances were not enough and still resulted in a 2-1 loss. Diego Luna returned to silence after his brace last week. RSL will host a gritty Toronto FC next week.

24. ST. LOUIS CITY SC (-1) | 2-1 L CLB

St. Louis is crumbling in the fashion of four consecutive losses. The three-game scoring duct was broken just six minutes into a matchup with Columbus through Joao Klauss. Klauss finally looked like the player he was at the very start of St. Louis' existence. He took four shots and was a genuine threat in the box at all times. He will be disappointed to only score once and leave the game with a 2-1 loss. Outside of Klauss, it was more mediocrity from a STL side that has grown accustomed to that in the past month. The lack of possession hurt in the long run, but a few counter attack chances did go begging. St. Louis has to be more clinical. It doesn't get any easier, as Vancouver comes to town in one week's time.

25. HOUSTON DYNAMO (-1) | 1-1 D LA

The Houston Dynamo gained a man advantage in the 28th minute and somehow got worse. Ezequiel Ponce had already opened the scoring minutes earlier and things were going well. It all went downhill from there, as Diego Fagundez tied the match with a lovely free kick in the second half. Houston did win the xG battle, most of which can be attributed to Ponce. Ponce missed three big chances and just could not give the Dynamo the winner they badly needed. Jack McGlynn was not very effective in his role, as Ben Olsen played him much deeper than last game. He created nothing for his team and should be playing out on the right side if Houston wants to maximize his talent. The 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy was not impressive and absolutely has to be a win when up a man for over 60 minutes.

26. TORONTO FC (-) | 0-0 D MIN

Toronto FC is absolutely elite at drawing the top teams in the league. It's just an innate ability. In its last three games, TFC has taken a point off of half the top six teams in the league table. Of course, that still amounts to zero wins and no progress in the standings, but those results are still good ones. Toronto attempted five shots on goal in the 0-0 draw with Minnesota United, but unlike the match against Miami, there weren't meaningful chances. It was back to normal for the Italian duo. Deybi Flores bossed the midfield for Toronto and played a role in keeping things level. Eventually, Toronto is going to have to turn these performances into goals and wins if any developments are to be made.

27. LA GALAXY (+1) | 1-1 D HOU

There truly isn't a whole lot left to say about LA Galaxy in 2025. The defending champions will not be doing defending of any kind. Sitting dead last in the West without a win, the Galaxy are in the gutter. The Lucas Sanabria signing hasn't worked so far, but the addition of Zanka has been 10 times worse. Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil showed flashes of last season out on the wings finally, while Diego Fagundez scored a free kick and was decent in the middle. The Galaxy actually played better while down a man and had some really nice passages of play, but it's clearly just not the same team. It could be a while before LA wins a game, but there are capable players on the field who can make some magic happen.

28. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (-3) | 4-2 L POR

Sporting Kansas City's first win of the season was quickly shut down by a 4-2 loss to Portland this time out. Giving up four goals on home turf is a sign of a pretty bad team, and that's a fair label for SKC. Dejan Joveljic scored a lovely Paneka penalty and had all the confidence in the world, just to miss a second attempt from the spot later on. Shapi Suleymanov scored his first MLS goal on a fairly lucky free kick that snuck all the way in. Besides that, it was a horrid day just over the border in Kansas. Jansen Miller not only scored an own goal, but he also handed them another. To absolutely no one's surprise, playing Khiry Shelton in this extremely strange right back role having been a striker his whole career simply does not work. It's going to be a long year, Peter Vermes or not.

29. CF MONTREAL (-) | 1-0 L CLT

Of the worst teams in MLS, CF Montreal has shown the most promise, despite the six losses and zero wins. The main issues for this team come in the goal scoring department. Prince Owusu misses big chances for fun at striker. Giacomo Vrioni made his Montreal debut in the 1-0 loss to Charlotte after a long wait. The better debut came from the relatively unknown Gennadiy Synchuk, who was an active spark off the bench. George Campbell is genuinely a great center back, he put in another shift in defense and almost scored, but it came back off the post. All is not lost with the youth of CF Montreal, there's definitely something brewing. Playoffs are not apart of that brew, though, because of the whole single DP debacle and the severe inexperience.

30. DC UNITED (-) | 1-0 L FCC

It would likely surprise very few people if DC United spent every week from here on out in the dead last spot. Opposing teams are figuring out that if they just put a guy on either side of Christian Benteke and hold onto him with four hands, this entire team becomes utterly useless. All DC is trained to do is cross the ball, as Aaron Herrera whipped in 16 crosses, while David Schnegg sent in another eight from the other side. When Benteke is taken out of the equation, which is still difficult to do with a double-team considering his size, those whipped balls have negative threat. Benteke actually had seven shot attempts, but it couldn't be any more telling that FC Cincinnati blocked five of those before they reached Roman Celentano. Luis Barraza got the nod in net for the first time this season, but DC fell 1-0 to Cincy at home. Joao Peglow is the only semi-exciting player to watch, otherwise it's just a poor concoction of players regardless of who's on the field.