MLS Power Rankings: Seattle reign supreme

The Sounders look unstoppable, FC Cincinnati opened their brand-new stadium with a familiar defeat, and the New England Revolution continued to look like the best in the Eastern Conference. (Oh, and last year’s MLS Cup champs, Columbus, are struggling.)

Get caught up with the weekend’s action and see where your team sits in our Week 5 Power Rankings.

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Previous ranking: 1

Next MLS match: May 23 vs. Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. ET

Who’s going to stop the Sounders? Seattle’s latest win, a 2-0 stroll vs. LAFC, matched their best-ever start to a season with five wins and one draw from their opening six games. Brad Smith continues to impress, the attacking interplay is fluent and the defense looks untroubled: Stefan Cleveland, standing in for Stefan Frei between the posts, got his first career shutout. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 2

Next MLS match: May 22 at Portland Timbers, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN Deportes

Another week, another goal for Javier Hernandez as the Galaxy look the part of a Supporters’ Shield contender. In their 2-0 win against Austin, Sebastian Lletget put LA ahead early before Chicharito followed with his league-leading seventh goal of the season. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 6

Next MLS match: May 22 vs. New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

New England‘s match against the Crew rated four snores, but the Revs had the last word when Adam Buksa‘s late winner gave them a win over reigning MLS Cup champs Columbus. So far New England is looking the class of the Eastern Conference, even on a day when it was short of its best. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 9

Next MLS match: May 22 vs. Toronto FC, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Lions’ 1-0 win over D.C. United wasn’t the prettiest performance, but they kept grinding away and extended their unbeaten streak to five. On a night where Orlando rode its defense, the play of right-back Kyle Smith stood out. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 5

Next MLS match: May 22 vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Manager Ronny Deila was left fuming after what looked to be a decisive second NYCFC goal, by Jesus Medina, was disallowed due to the player allegedly interfering with the keeper. That’s still no reason for not managing the game better. NYCFC still look like one of the conference’s best, but this result was two points dropped. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 14

Next MLS match: May 22 at LAFC, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

A comprehensive 3-1 win against Houston makes it three straight wins for the Rapids since starting the season with one point through its first two games. Sam Vines, Diego Rubio and Cole Bassett all scored first-half goals. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 7

Next MLS match: May 22 at San Jose, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+

After a 1-0 loss midweek at Houston, SKC turned in a complete performance in a 3-0 win against Vancouver on Sunday. Daniel Salloi scored first and Alan Pulido bagged a brace to put SKC back on track ahead of an intriguing match at San Jose. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 4

Next MLS match: May 22 vs Sporting Kansas City, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+

After three straight wins, San Jose hit a wall this week with a pair of home losses to Seattle (0-1) and Portland (0-2). — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 12

Next MLS match: May 23 vs. Austin FC, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN+

“Draw specialists” isn’t the most desirable moniker, but that’s what Nashville has been during the first month of the season, earning its fourth tie, this one on the road against Real Salt Lake. On the plus side, NSC is one of three unbeaten teams in the league, though questions about the attack persist.— Carlisle

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Previous ranking: 16

Next MLS match: May 23 at D.C. United, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Union still doesn’t quite look its best, but four points from a draw with New England and a win over the Red Bulls was enough to move up the Eastern Conference table. Daniel Gazdag is the latest Ernst Tanner acquisition whom no-one has heard of, but will probably turn out to be a gem.— Carlisle

Previous ranking: 11

Next MLS match: May 22 at FC Dallas, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Goalkeeper David Ochoa kept his first clean sheet of the season, but RSL was also kept scoreless by Nashville’s stingy defense in a 0-0 draw. Rubio Rubin has been one of the stories of the season and it will be interesting how RSL looks in attack once Bobby Wood joins up with the team.— Bonagura

Previous ranking: 10

Next MLS match: May 22 vs. Colorado Rapids, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

A 2-0 loss at Seattle Sunday night means LAFC is winless in four since its season-opening win against Austin FC, putting them last in the Western Conference standings. As bad as this stretch has been, Carlos Vela‘s return from injury with a 70th-minute substitute appearance provides hope things can get turned around. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 13

Next MLS match: May 23 at Nashville SC, 9 p.m. ET, FS1

A 2-0 loss at the Galaxy makes it back-to-back losses for the expansion side after recording a pair of wins. Austin still has three more away games before it opens Q2 Stadium against the San Jose Earthquakes on June 19. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 3

Next MLS match: May 22 at New York City FC, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

So which hangover is stronger, the MLS Cup version or the CONCACAF Champions League variety? Or is the “Crew Rebrand Curse” weighing heavy? Regardless, a two-loss week — and the fact that Own Goal is Columbus’ leading scorer, with two — speaks to how underwhelming the Crew’s start has been. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 15

Next MLS match: May 22 vs FC Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Road trips to Miami and Atlanta aren’t as onerous as they used to be given that Montreal is based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but three points from those two games isn’t too shabby. That said, it was nearly four, making the late loss to Atlanta painful indeed.— Carlisle

Previous ranking: 18

Next MLS match: May 22 vs Vancouver, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN+

In Houston’s first two-match week of the season, it secured a 1-0 midweek win at home against Sporting Kansas City through Maximiliano Urruti, before falling 3-1 at Colorado on Saturday. Through seven games, the Dynamo have scored more than one goal in a game just once. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 19

Next MLS match: May 23 at Seattle Sounders FC, 4:30 p.m. ET

The Five Stripes left it late for the 40,000 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — the largest crowd since the start of the pandemic — but Marcelino Moreno‘s stoppage-time goal was enough to give Atlanta a 1-0 win over Montreal. Concerns still linger about Atlanta’s attack, though the eventual return of Ezequiel Barco should help. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 20

Next MLS match: May 22 at Chicago Fire, 6 p.m. ET

Looks like the talk of Gonzalo Higuain not scoring from the run of play can be tabled now, as he scored twice — including the winner in the 85th minute — to give Miami a badly needed 3-2 win at Cincinnati. The win also overshadows the tepid midweek defeat to Montreal. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 8

Next MLS match: May 22 at Houston, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Vancouver went into the week with a chance to build some momentum with games against Minnesota and Sporting Kansas City, but didn’t score a goal in a pair of losses. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 17

Next MLS match: May 22 at New England Revolution, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Red Bulls modest two-game winning streak was snapped in a road defeat to Philadelphia, but the bigger concern will be the injury to defender Aaron Long, who appeared to sustain a serious lower leg injury. Any extended absence would be a big blow for both club and country. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 22

Next MLS match: May 22 vs Los Angeles, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN Deportes

Yimmi Chara and Marvin Loria both scored in a 2-0 win against San Jose, but the highlight of the night came when goalkeeper Logan Ketterer, on loan from USL side El Paso, saved a Chris Wondolowski penalty to preserve a 1-0 lead. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 23

Next MLS match: May 22 at Orlando City, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Chris Armas and TFC needed a productive week and they got it, beating Columbus 2-1 and then tying NYCFC, 1-1, on the road. Alex Bono should send Jacob Shaffelburg a gift basket after the latter’s goal canceled out a howler from the Toronto keeper. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 27

Next MLS match: May 29 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m., ESPN+

It’s still early, but the Loons might have salvaged their season with a pair of 1-0 wins against Vancouver and FC Dallas following four straight losses to begin the year. Robin Lod‘s stoppage-time winner against Dallas was one of the best moments in the league this week. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 24

Next MLS match: May 23 vs. Philadelphia Union, 7:00 p.m., ESPN+

Outwardly, DCU is still struggling, but there are signs of progress. The midweek win over Chicago got the Black-and-Red back in the win column, and while they fell at home to Orlando at home over the weekend, the DCU attack looked sharper and had the upper hand against one of the conference’s better teams. The question now is can Hernan Losada’s side build on a modicum of momentum. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 21

Next MLS match: May 22 vs Real Salt Lake, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

FC Dallas’ offensive struggles continued in a 1-0 loss at Minnesota United, where a late goal gave the Loons all three points. Take away a 4-1 win against a heavily rotated Portland side, and Dallas has managed just two goals in the four other matches combined. — Bonagura

Previous ranking: 25

Next MLS match: May 22 vs. Inter Miami CF, 6 p.m. ET

The beatdown goes on as the Fire dropped their fourth in a row, this time to D.C. United, 1-0. Once again, some enterprising approach work resulted in strikes against the woodwork as opposed to goals. Brian Gutierrez continues to be one of the few bright spots. — Carlisle

Previous ranking: 26

Next MLS match: May 22 at CF Montreal, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Sunday’s defeat to Miami — which spoiled the opening of TQL Stadium — was a gut punch even by Cincinnati’s head-shaking standards. After doing the hard work of coming back from 2-0, FCC couldn’t make it last and coughed up a late winner. That’s 13 goals conceded in just four games.— Carlisle