ESPN MLS Power Rankings – Week 34
It’s Monday, and another week of MLS action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.
Who’s climbing the table, and who’s in free fall? our writers studied the action from across Matchday 34 to come up with this week’s order of all 30 teams in the league. let’s dive in.
1. Philadelphia union
Previous ranking: 1
The Union got back on track after a 7-0 regular-season loss to the Whitecaps and a 3-1 loss to Nashville in the U.S. Open Cup semis with a 1-0 win over the new England Revolution on Saturday. They still hold the lead in the supporters’ Shield race.
2. Vancouver Whitecaps
Previous ranking: 6
Even banged-up and on short rest after a midweek Canadian Championship victory, the ‘Caps took care of business in Kansas City. Jesper Sorensen’s side won 2-0 and is frist in the West in points per game.
3. FC Cincinnati
Previous ranking: 3
Ever the game-breaker, Evander secured three lovely assists in Cincinnati’s 3-2 road win over the LA Galaxy on saturday. The Brazilian’s fingerprints were all over the match, which also featured a brace for Brenner.
4.San diego FC
Previous ranking: 2
Despite Anders Dreyer giving his team a lead in the first half, San Diego couldn’t secure all three points in Atlanta over the weekend. They had to settle for a 1-1 draw,a result that could prove decisive in the Shield race.
5. Columbus Crew
Previous ranking: 4
It seems a jam-p
## MLS Power Rankings: Week 26
1. LAFC
Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela continue to terrorize opposing defenses. The pair tallied all four of LAFC’s goals in a 4-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday night. Zooming out further, LAFC have scored 12 goals in their past three games; Son and Bouanga have scored all 12 of them. This team is a terror in the final third right now.
2. Orlando City SC
previous ranking: 11
Orlando’s 3-2 win over Nashville didn’t come easily, with Duncan McGuire scoring a 95th-minute winner to secure the victory. In the hyper-competitive Eastern Conference, taking three points from another team jockeying for playoff seeding has immense value.
3.Nashville SC
Previous ranking: 12
B.J. Callaghan’s Nashville team fought back from a two-goal hole and looked primed to earn a draw on the road in Orlando on Saturday,only to lose 3-2 after a 95th-minute concession. They’ve won just one of their past seven in MLS play.
4. NYCFC
Previous ranking: 14
NYCFC did what no other MLS team has been able to do since june: they beat Charlotte FC. Alonso Martínez’s pair of penalty conversions did the trick, helping New York City to a 2-0 win and keeping them inside the East’s top four.
5. Minnesota United FC
Previous ranking: 8
Light on strikers and missing key players deeper downfield after a midweek U.S. Open Cup defeat,Minnesota fell to the Chicago Fire 3-0 on Saturday. More than that, Eric Ramsay’s team got a taste of its own medicine by conceding two of those goals on set pieces.
6.charlotte FC
Previous ranking: 5
Charlotte’s dreams of winning a league-record 10 games in a row came crashing down.## MLS Power Rankings: Week 34 – The Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus
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LAFC vs. Real Salt Lake – Game Highlights
Watch the Game Highlights from LAFC vs. Real salt Lake, 09/21/2025
Previous ranking: 18
Myrto Uzuni‘s late winner stamped an emotional exclamation point on Austin’s latest outing,a 2-1 victory over the Sounders. The win put much-needed space between Austin FC and the West’s wild-card spots.
Previous ranking: 17
A 2-0 win over Montreal on Saturday keeps the Red Bulls within touching distance of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. Still, they’re two points behind Chicago
MLS Power Rankings: Week 34
In MLS play, failing to do anything but pick up points one at a time since Djordje Mihailovic arrived via trade.
Previous ranking: 26
There appear to be precious few useful building blocks in this St. Louis squad, but Marcel Hartel is a player worth building around. The German attacking midfielder provided a goal and an assist in his team’s 3-1 road win over the Earthquakes on Saturday.
Previous ranking: 22
Already short-handed in the attack, a second yellow card to Isaiah Parente saw the Galaxy go down to 10 men for the final forty minutes of their 3-2 loss to Cincinnati. The hosts simply had no answer for Evander’s line-breaking precision or for Kévin Denkey and Brenner’s clever off-ball runs.
