EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt's Monday, MLS action is back, and it's time for ESPN's Power Rankings.Which team looks the strongest? Which one is in for a long year? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 6 to come up with this week's order. Let's dive in.1. LAFCPrevious ranking: 2Son Heung-Min notched four first-half assists (almost matching Lionel Messi's assists-in-one-half record) in a 6-0 win against Orlando. Three of those were to Denis Bouanga, who clocked his fifth MLS hat trick in a dominant win for the only team yet to concede a goal this season.2. Nashville SCPrevious ranking: 1Nashville proved mortal in a windy Chicago after losing 1-0 to the Fire. After conceding in the first minute, it couldn't break through a Chicago defense buoyed by four saves from Chris Brady. Nashville has a few days to recover before Tuesday's Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal against Club Amrica.3. Vancouver WhitecapsPrevious ranking: 3Vancouver took an early lead against Portland, then conceded twice and trailed until the 91st minute. But winning teams find a way; Thomas Mller converted a late penalty minutes before Sebastian Berhalter helped set up his own 95th-minute match winner to steal a 3-2 victory at home. After losing to San Jose and Seattle (in the Champions Cup) before the break, those three points matter.4. San Jose EarthquakesPrevious ranking: 6The only thing that can stop San Jose this season is a briefly malfunctioning sprinkler on their pitch, and even that didn't stop the Earthquakes in a 3-0 win against San Diego. Niko Tsakiris scored twice (including a skillful left-footed strike at an improbable angle to take an early lead) as the San Jose outshot San Diego 10-1 on target while up a player from the 32nd minute.5. Inter Miami CFPrevious ranking: 4Guilherme Biro 's sixth-minute header robbed Miami of the opening goal at its brand-new Nu Stadium, but it didn't take long for Messi to respond with a 10th-minute equalizer. The visitors were a challenge and took the lead again on a counter, but Luis Surez (who can somehow still walk, let alone score) secured a share of the spoils eight minutes after entering. With a 2-2 draw, Miami has tied four of its past five games across all competitions.6. Seattle SoundersPrevious ranking: 7Seattle doesn't score a lot (with six total, it has the second-fewest goals for teams in the playoff positions, including wild card), but it doesn't concede often either. While being outshot on target, Andy Thomas made three saves to secure the Sounders' fifth clean sheet. At the other end, top scorer Paul Rothrock netted his third of the regular season to secure three points in a 1-0 win in Houston. Next stop Monterrey, for the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals.7. San Diego FCPrevious ranking: 5San Diego was already trailing the Quakes when a harsh denial of a goal-scoring opportunity saw Manu Duah sent off in the 32nd minute. Two more goals and a sprinkler malfunction later, and SDFC had its third loss of the season and faces solid tests ahead. San Diego will need to bounce back against Minnesota and RSL.8. FC DallasPrevious ranking: 10Don't sleep on Dallas. After rocking D.C. to the tune of a 4-0 win, only Vancouver has more goals this season. With his seventh goal in the 91st minute, Petar Musa is even with Nashville's Sam Surridge atop the scoring list.9. Real Salt LakePrevious ranking: 8After beating SKC 3-1, RSL have four wins in a five-game undefeated run. Diego Luna (returning from a knee injury) got his first start in 2026 and took four minutes to score, but it's the ascendant youth movement that made the difference: 19-year-old Zavier Gozo set up Sergi Solans' 55th-minute goal before scoring the decisive final strike.10. New York City FCPrevious ranking: 9Saturday's 1-1 draw feels like a loss for the Pigeons, who were on their way to a win at home while outshooting St. Louis 7-3 on target, but Roman Brki's six saves and a 95th-minute equalizer from New Jersey native Brendan McSorley ensured the spoils were shared.11. Minnesota UnitedPrevious ranking: 11James Rodrguez returned from the international break unavailable because of health issues (listed as "illness"), but the Loons secured a 2-1 win against the Galaxy without the Colombia international, featuring a winning goal from Kelvin Yeboah. Different coach, different season, familiar Minnesota: It doesn't need more of the ball or the chances to beat you.12. Red Bull New YorkPrevious ranking: 13The Red Bulls have their first win since Feb. 28 (two defeats and a draw since then) after beating Cincinnati 4-2 at home. Julian Hall, 18 and the team's top scorer, netted the first of four goals to mark his fifth of the season. Emil Forsberg scored a stunning first goal of the season with a 48th-minute free kick.13. Chicago FirePrevious ranking: 15Chicago dealt Nashville its first loss of the season in a solid 1-0 win at home. With a first-minute goal from Philip Zinckernagel (the fastest goal in club history at 17 seconds), the Fire held off Nashville's responding efforts with the help of four saves from Chris Brady, who had at least one highlight-reel-worthy stop.14. Charlotte FCPrevious ranking: 16Charlotte beat a struggling Philadelphia team 2-1 at home to stretch its undefeated run to four games (three wins, one draw). A 78th-minute goal robbed Charlotte of its second clean sheet, but Wilfried Zaha responded minutes later to secure three points with his second goal of the season.15. Toronto FCPrevious ranking: 18After beating Colorado 3-2 in a match featuring three red cards (two for Colorado), Toronto is undefeated in four games (three wins, one draw). For a team that won only six in 2025, that's great form. More reasons for optimism: In his third appearance, second start and first full 90, Josh Sargent scored the winning goal and assisted on Richie Laryea's marker.16. LA GalaxyPrevious ranking: 12Drake Callender's seven saves helped limit things, but the Galaxy showed spurts of quality as they outshot and outpossessed Minnesota in a 2-1 loss at home. They're still ticking along in Concacaf Champions Cup, but LA hasn't won a regular-season game since Feb. 28 (three defeats, one tie since then).17. FC CincinnatiPrevious ranking: 14Remarkably, Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Red Bulls is Cincinnati's third straight game with a red card. It came in the 95th minute but hey, if the 2023 Supporters' Shield winners aren't leading the league in points, they are atop the total red cards list alongside Houston. Another notable stat: After conceding two goals in their first three games, Cincinnati has conceded 13 in its past three.18. St. Louis City SCPrevious ranking: 187After going on a three-game losing streak, St. Louis has a bit of momentum with one win and a draw in its past two, when it fell behind first. Saturday at NYCFC, St. Louis salvaged a point at the death with Brendan McSorley's 95th-minute equalizer. Roman Brki helped see his team through with six saves.19. Austin FCPrevious ranking: 22Austin has six points from its first six games of the season after tying Miami 2-2 at Nu Stadium's grand opening. Los Verdes were aggressive in the spotlight and took the lead twice before succumbing to goals from Lionel Messi and Luis Surez. Brad Stuver's six saves were as pivotal as their pressure.20. Houston DynamoPrevious ranking: 19Not many teams have scored on Seattle this season -- in fact, only RSL have in the MLS regular season -- but the Dynamo were frustrated in a 1-0 loss at home against the Sounders while outshooting their guests (both on and off target) before conceding a late goal to walk away with no points.21. Portland TimbersPrevious ranking: 23In his first match of the season after recovering from an ankle injury, Juan Mosquera showed how pivotal he is. Playing 45 minutes, he scored a golazo to bring his team level and assisted on the go-ahead goal. Two stoppage-time goals (including one off of a handball penalty) sent the Timbers home with no points and a 3-2 defeat, but there are positive signs for Portland.22. Colorado RapidsPrevious ranking: 20The Rapids love a high-scoring game. Whether it ends in their favor is a gamble. In March, they beat the Galaxy 4-1, lost to NYCFC 3-1, then beat SKC 4-1. Saturday in Toronto, two red cards had Colorado finish the match with nine players (Toronto with 10) as it fumbled a 2-0 lead and departed with a 3-2 loss. En route, Zack Steffen made multiple errors, including a viral own-goal that brought Toronto level in the 77th minute.23. Columbus CrewPrevious ranking: 25At last, the Crew have their first win of the season. Wessam Abou Ali took five minutes to score a brace and Max Arfsten (back at the scene of the U.S. men's national team's back-to-back friendly defeats) provided the third goal after assisting on Ali's first in a 3-1 win against Atlanta.24. D.C. UnitedPrevious ranking: 21Sean Johnson preceded the international break with his second clean sheet of the season. Against Dallas he conceded four, doubling United's total goals conceded this season in just one game.25. New England RevolutionPrevious ranking: 24The Revs opened a three-game run at home with a 3-0 win against Montral. Luca Langoni pounced on a kick save to claim an early lead, 18-year-old Peyton Miller scored his second goal of the season and Matt Turner made four saves to keep a clean sheet.26. Orlando CityPrevious ranking: 27After losing 6-0 to LAFC (Hugo Lloris made six saves to keep them goalless), Orlando has lost three of its past four games by a five- or six-goal margin. With 23 goals conceded this season (the most in MLS), the Lions are heading in a record-setting direction.27. Atlanta UnitedPrevious ranking: 26After a two-game undefeated run (not really a run, but when you're Atlanta, you'll take it), the Five Stripes are back to losing games after falling 3-1 to Columbus. The team's top scorer, Alexey Miranchuk, provided the sole goal in a sparsely filled stadium. Head coach Tata Martino provided the final note of calamity with a stoppage-time red card.28. Sporting Kansas CityPrevious ranking: 29Striker Dejan Joveljic can only do so much to salvage points for the West's basement dwellers. That said, he did score his fourth goal of the season to chip away at RSL's lead, and nearly had a second in the final minutes before it was called offside in a 3-1 defeat.29. Philadelphia UnionPrevious ranking: 28After losing 2-1 to Charlotte (Philadelphia drew level in the 78th minute only to leave Wilfried Zaha wide open for a goal two minutes later), the reigning Supporters' Shield winners have six straight defeats to start the season. The Union have secured the record for worst start for a Supporters' Shield winner, but the record for worst start for any team is within reach.30. CF MontralPrevious ranking: 30After losing 3-0 to the Revs (with the goalpost as busy as Matt Turner to stop a few promising strikes), Montral closed out its first six games of the season on the road with five defeats and one win. Good news: Montral hosts winless Philadelphia team in its home opener next.
