MLS Power Rankings: Vancouver Regain Form, Messi Left Frustrated After Matchday 22

The 2026 MLS season was busy this week, with each of the 30 teams playing on Wednesday and over the weekend, leading to plenty of major shifts across the league.

On Wednesday night, Inter Miami and the Philadelphia Union played to a heated 2–2 draw, and the Houston Dynamo upset the Vancouver Whitecaps to briefly usurp the top spot in the Western Conference. At the same time, Nashville SC secured a stoppage-time win over Red Bull New York.

The weekend brought more stunning turns, with Miami falling to a suddenly-hot Toronto FC, Nashville turning a 2–1 deficit into a 3–2 win in second-half stoppage time, and Vancouver reclaiming the top spot in the West with a 5–0 trouncing of FC Dallas.

With plenty of games, comes plenty of movement. Here’s where every club stacks up in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated’s MLS Power Rankings after Matchdays 21 and 22.

MLS Power Rankings Matchday 22: Clubs 30–11

30. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 30)
29. Colorado Rapids (Previous: 26)
28. Atlanta United (Previous: 29)
27. Austin FC (Previous: 28)
26. D.C. United (Previous: 22)
25. Columbus Crew (Previous: 23)
24. Colorado Rapids (Previous: 26)
23. Orlando City (Previous: 23)
22. Toronto FC (Previous: 25)
21. Philadelphia Union (Previous: 21)
20. L.A. Galaxy (Previous: 20)
19. Red Bull New York (Previous: 19)
18. Seattle Sounders (Previous: 16)
17. St. Louis CITY SC (Previous: 24)
16. San Diego FC (Previous: 17)
15. San Jose Earthquakes (Previous: 10)
14. Minnesota United (Previous: 15)
13. FC Dallas (Previous: 13)
12. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 11)
11. Portland Timbers (Previous: 14)

10. New York City FC (Previous: 8) 📉

Matt Freese needs more attacking support despite his strong goalkeeping form. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a 2–1 loss to FC Cincinnati and a 1–1 draw against the New England Revolution, New York City FC are slipping down the Eastern Conference, now seventh after a four-game winless run.

Matt Freese put in an impressive four-save performance, including a penalty kick save against the Revs, but his goalkeeping won’t be enough to entirely save the Pigeons. Combine their struggles with rumors surrounding star attacking midfielder Nicolás Fernández Mercau and a potential lofty offer from Sporting Kansas City, and there’s a certain level of doubt around whether they can fully turn things around.

9. Charlotte FC (Previous: 12) ⬆️

Former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin has played at six different clubs in the last five years, but his early days with Charlotte FC have already dismissed any concerns of him dropping from a competitive level. This week in a 3–3 draw against Toronto FC and a 3–1 win against D.C. United, he completed seven dribbles and took five shots and has been a massive boon to Charlotte’s already strong attacking setup.

There should be ample frustration in manager Dean Smith’s group, though, after they dropped an invaluable two points by surrendering a 3–1 lead against a Toronto side that had dropped to 10-men after a Walker Zimmerman red card.

Still, securing four points isn’t the end of the world. They’re fifth in the Eastern Conference and will likely be the first MLS side tasked with shutting down Atlanta United’s pricey new signing Breel Embolo next weekend.

8. New England Revolution (Previous: 9) ⬆️

Peyton Miller (left) and Dor Turgeman (right) have hit a spell of recent form with the New England Revolution. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a shocking 2–1 loss to Toronto FC last weekend, the New England Revolution got back up to speed this week with an Alhassan Yusuf hat-trick securing a 3–0 win over D.C. United and an impressive defensive effort in a 1–1 Sunday afternoon draw with New York City FC.

While the Revs will rue not getting all six points—Carles Gil failed to score a penalty against New York City FC’s Matt Freese, it was a positive week for the most part. Jack Harrison posted a pair of assists and created six chances against D.C. Dor Turgman has taken steps forward as an offensive threat, and 18-year-old Peyton Miller starred in the NYCFC draw.

Sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference, next week’s clash with the last-place Columbus Crew could push them into the top three and bring them within striking distance of Inter Miami in second.

7. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 7) 🤝

Franco Negri briefly led the Houston Dynamo to the top of the Western Conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Soccer changes fast. Less than two weeks ago, Ezequiel Ponce was struggling to produce anything of note on a Houston Dynamo side still looking for its peak form. This week, Ponce came off the bench for Elche against FC Barcelona in La Liga after his transfer, and the Dynamo spent several days atop the Western Conference after an emphatic 1–0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The midweek win in Vancouver showed Houston at near their best. They were creative and threatening and secured the win with a defensively-stout effort, after Franco Negri’s long-distance strike in the first half. The result made them just the third team in MLS history to secure five-straight clean sheet wins.

A loss to another red-hot side in St. Louis CITY on the weekend dampened some of the momentum, but the Dynamo still proved how good they can be against the league’s top teams and will look to return to winning ways against the struggling San Jose Earthquakes next week.

6. Inter Miami (Previous: 3) 📉

It was a bad week for Inter Miami, despite two goals from Lionel Messi. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s all going wrong for Inter Miami. Combining Leagues Cup and MLS results, the Herons are now five games without a win, and after a 2–1 loss to Toronto FC and a 2–2 draw with the Philadelphia Union, they sit 10 points back of Nashville for the Supporters’ Shield and the Eastern Conference lead.

The over-reliance on Lionel Messi has become more evident than ever; Luis Suárez has slowed down from his outstanding early-season scoring rate, and Casemiro has played as if he’s shocked by the rigor and level of MLS.

With a deeply flawed roster build that leaves gaping holes across the team, it seems Miami’s only legitimate chance at improvement will be Messi’s continued brilliance or goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair showing more of the form that saw him make four saves in the Union draw.

5. LAFC (Previous: 5) 🤝

Denis Bouanga scored LAFC's only goal across two games this week. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The noise around Marc Dos Santos’s future as LAFC’s manager only grew louder this week, as the club secured just a single point of a possible six with a 1–1 draw against the Portland Timbers and a 1–0 loss to the Colorado Rapids.

With just two goals in the last four MLS games—without a win in that spell, things are starting to get a little concerning for the Black and Gold. Wednesday’s loss to Colorado didn’t see Dos Santos field his best team, with Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min left out of the starting lineup, but the draw against Portland was more problematic. The team failed to score on a whopping 33 shots.

LAFC sit third in the Western Conference on 35 points now, but are just two points away from falling as far as sixth.

4. FC Cincinnati (Previous: 6) ⬆️

Fourth time's a charm 🍀

Evander buries the chance for the Cincinnati lead!

📺 Apple TV: https://t.co/R3rtkMDW1u pic.twitter.com/aFnAM115gd
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 23, 2026

Another week means more clutch moments from Evander. Where would FC Cincinnati be without him?

On Wednesday, the electric Brazilian scored in the 91st minute to secure a 2–1 win over New York City FC, and on Saturday, he scored his side’s only goal in a disheartening 1–1 draw with the struggling Seattle Sounders.

While the dropped points against a poor Seattle side will sting, finding four of a possible six points, as others in the Eastern Conference struggled, isn’t too bad. Dado Valenzuela’s impressive showing against Seattle is also a positive step forward.

3. Chicago Fire (Previous: 4) ⬆️

Robert Lewandowski helped the Chicago Fire beat Antoine Griezmann's Orlando City. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s a busy time for the Chicago Fire, but they’ve not let that hurt their momentum, picking up four of a possible six points this week.

On Wednesday, the Fire secured a 2–1 win over Antoine Griezmann’s Orlando City, with Robert Lewandowski scoring a penalty late in the second half. On Saturday, manager Gregg Berhalter slightly rotated his group for a 1–1 draw against Red Bull New York.

With the two games in the books, Chicago have played seven games in 22 days and have a short turnaround before playing again at home on Tuesday against former star striker Hugo Cuypers and Liga MX’s CF Monterrey in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.

The Fire’s depth is being tested right now, and so far, they’ve thrived. At the same time, there’s a chance star center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi could be back for the final weeks of the regular season, which would provide a massive boost to MLS Cup hopes.

2. Vancouver Whitecaps (Previous: 2) 🤝

Brian White, Thomas Muller — Brian White (right) scored twice and Thomas Müller picked up an assist in Vancouver’s massive win over FC Dallas. | Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz/Getty Images

If Wednesday night’s 1–0 loss to the Houston Dynamo surrendered the top spot in the Western Conference and showcased everything the Vancouver Whitecaps have struggled with since the World Cup, the 5–0 win against FC Dallas showed they’re still among the best teams in MLS—and might just be figuring things out in their post-Sebastian Berhalter era.

Vancouver’s recent downturn didn’t see them playing poorly. Still, they had a dismal finishing rate, couldn't get into high xG areas and often passed around the top of the box without much imagination. The return of all-time leading scorer Brian White shifted that on Saturday—a massive difference from the struggles that have maligned 18-year-old striker Rayan Elloumi.

White scored a first-half brace in his return from injury to give him 12 total on the season, and the defense secured an eighth clean sheet of the season. It feels like that might’ve just been the game Vancouver needed—and they now lead MLS with 45 goals and a +27 goal differential ahead of next week’s clash with last-place Sporting Kansas City.

1. Nashville SC (Previous: 1) 🤝

If it wasn’t clear already, it sure is now: Nashville SC are the best team in MLS. After two wins against Red Bull New York and the Columbus Crew this week, they’re in control of the Supporters’ Shield race, nine points up on second-place Vancouver Whitecaps and 10 on Inter Miami, the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.

While last week’s 4–1 beatdown of Inter Miami proved their ability to dominate the most talented teams in MLS, this week was about their simple desire to win and not give up on any game. Against Red Bull, it was Maxwell Woledzi’s second-half stoppage-time winner, and against Columbus, it was a 93rd-minute tying goal from Reed Baker-Whiting and a 95th-minute winner from Andy Najar.

BJ Callaghan has this Nashville team firing in the best possible way, and the two last-minute results can only add more confidence. Good teams never feel like a game is out of reach, and that’s what Nashville have proven.

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