Power Rankings

MLS Week 1 Power Rankings

Week 1 is over.  It was a fun weekend of opening MLS soccer.  Talk about goals, huh? 36 across 10 games.  What that says, I’m not sure yet.  There’s a lot of new defenses, and it may just take them time to gel.  It may be because there were just better offensive signings this season.  In any case it’s something to keep an eye on.  Take a look at my Preseason Power Rankings from last week where I assess offseason moves.  The previous rankings were considered this week as well.

20)   Colorado Rapids: The Rapids basically picked up right where they left off last season by starting this one with a loss.  They actually looked better this year than they did last year, but a loss is a loss, lets see if Jermaine Jones can improve them enough.

19) Philadelphia Union: Philly comprehensively lost to a far superior Dallas side. The back line is basically brand new, so they’ll take some time to gel.

18) Chicago Fire: The fire looked dangerous when they played through Accam.  They were able to capitalize on stupid mistakes from NYCFC’s back line.

17) DC United: Talk about ugly.  DC United was totally outclassed by the Galaxy this weekend.  Really, I’m not sure it can get much worse.  They need to bounce back.  A win against Colorado next week would do a world of good.

16) Real Salt Lake: RSL managed a 2-2 draw with Orlando.  They were outshot, and out possessed.  They’ll be looking to rectify both of those issues.

15) Orlando City: Cyle Larin, that is all.

14) Seattle Sounders: This wasn’t the start Sigi Schmidt would have wanted.  Jordan Morris underwhelmed in his first match, and the new look attack looked just that, new.

13) New England Revolution: 3-3 for the Revs.  Really kind of a toss up for putting them or Houston higher.  It was a fairly even match, but I will say, Diego Fagundez looked good.

12) Houston Dynamo: See above.  Will Bruin was probably the standout for Houston.  They’ll feel aggrieved they didn’t hold out for the win in the waining minutes.

11) New York City FC: NYCFC’s new look, younger attack looked explosive and sharp.  The midfield worked hard.  But stupid mistakes made the end of the match less comfortable than it should have.  See the review here.

10) San Jose Earthquakes: San Jose’s biggest problem last season was consistency.  Can they make this week’s win the norm?  And how long is Wondo going to keep knocking home the goals?

9) New York Red Bulls: The Red Bulls surrendered 2 late goals in this one and would have looked to close out the match here.  It’s tough shutting down Giovinco, and the NYRB failed to do so this week.

8) Vancouver Whitecaps: Looking at the stats line, Vancouver really could have won this game, and maybe should have.  They outshot Montreal by 10.  They’ll need more quality from their attacking players going forward.

7) Sporting Kansas City: SKC got an impressive away win over a 10 man Seattle team.  This team is going to be built on the stability at the back, and this performance was a good step towards that.

6) Toronto FC: Toronto managed an impressive 2-0 away win over the Red Bulls.  Giovinco left it late with a goal and an assist in the last 10 minutes of the match.  They played without Jozy, but Giovinco and Bradley picked up the slack.

5) Colombus Crew:  Higuain may have scored the early contender for goal of the year, but the crew fell to the Timbers 2-1, again.  Berhalter’s men gave plenty to be upbeat about though.

4) Montreal Impact: Montreal scored 3 this week against Vancouver, in Vancouver.  They were without Drogba, who isn’t slated to return until the 19th against Dallas per mlssoccer.com.  Regardless, Ignacio Piatti bossed this match bagging himself 2 goals and an assist.  He also got a 10 rating by whoscored.

3) FC Dallas: Dallas got the win over an outmatched Philly side.  Dallas did well to mitigate any and all Philly attacks.  Star winger, Fabian Castillo went down and had to be stretchered off, but should be back soon.

2) LA Galaxy: Woah.  Going into half down 1-0 at home, Arena made a sub that changed the game.  Gio Dos Santos came off for Mike Magee.  The homeside ended the game with a commanding 4-1 win.  Stevie G and Nigel de Jong will be a partnership to watch going forward.

1) Portland Timbers: The Timbers picked up right where they left off last season.  The 2-1 win over Columbus was the same score as the MLS cup last season.  This is a good team that could be out to prove last season wasn’t a joke.

There you have it, Week 1 Power Rankings.  Let me know what you think, you can reach me on Twitter andFacebook, or email me at [email protected].  Also, check out my site, skybluesofny.com

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