MLS Power Rankings: Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami to Supporters’ Shield, West is settled and four teams fight for East playoffs spots

It takes a lot of effort to fall in the rankings this late in the season. SKC’s performances of late have been like watching a helium balloon slowly deflate and wither. Following the club’s loss in the U.S. Open Cup Final on Sept. 25, they had no fight against LAFC at home in a 3-0 loss.

• 27Chicago Fire ⬆️

  SKC were so bad, Chicago moved up a spot, despite also being not good. They took Charlotte to the wire on MD36, though, and you have to respect that.

  26New England Revolution ↔️

  Eliminated from playoff contention after an abysmal performance against D.C. United. Now, it’s time to evaluate Caleb Porter’s future as manager.

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    25Nashville SC ⬇️

    They were never expected to make the postseason after Gary Smith was sacked, but Matchday 37 was the dagger to the small hope they had. Time to build for 2025.

    24Austin FC ⬇️

    “Finally” – probably the words of Sebastian Driussi after Josh Wolff was fired by Austin on Sunday.

    A really poor campaign from Los Verde, and now, they’re starting from the ground up in 2025. It will be interesting to see if Anthony Precourt calls a certain former U.S. Men’s National Team manager that he worked with in Columbus, now.

    23St. Louis CITY SC ⬆️

    Already out of the postseason, they’re playing for pride at this point, and to be honest? We saw two of their best performances of the season last week as a result.

    They fought valiantly in a 1-0 loss to LAFC Wednesday and turned some heads by breezing past a red-hot Houston Dynamo side 3-0 Saturday.

    22Toronto FC ⬇️

    It’s just not been good enough in 2024. John Herdman underwhelmed on the touchline, their superstars – Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne – failed to standout, and their desire to excel on the pitch as a unit just didn’t show.

    Officially eliminated from playoff contention, TFC’s season is over. On to 2025.

    21FC Dallas ⬇️

    To lose to San Jose is saying a lot, especially since this year’s Earthquakes are statistically among the worst teams in MLS history.

    So much change is needed, from the roster to the touchline. Arguably the biggest offseason in the club’s 28-year history awaits. The status quo won’t be accepted. Thankfully due to location and infrastructure, this is an attractive head coaching vacancy and a decent foundation to build off of on the pitch.

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    20Atlanta United ⬆️

    Mathematically in the playoff hunt after a monumental 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. It was a gutsy performance, and their first victory since Aug. 31.

    Now, they need three points on Decision Day, but face an in-form Orlando City side. Not ideal.

    19New York Red Bulls ⬇️

    Zero desire from anyone at the moment. Considering their recent form, this is the team Eastern Conference sides are hoping they’re paired with in Round 1 of the postseason.

    They were sloppy and lacked any sort of mental fortitude in their loss to Atlanta. It completely wiped out their 4-1 clobbering of TFC days prior.

    Something has to change during this international break.

    18Philadelphia Union ⬇️

    Results from around the league have kept them mathematically alive for the postseason, but their form of late hasn’t helped. Losses to Orlando and the Crew on back-to-back Matchdays now have them needing three points against FC Cincinnati and additional help from elsewhere in the league to secure a play-in spot for the playoffs.

    Not a great situation for Jim Curtin’s team.

    • 17CF Montreal ⬆️

      A win or a draw on Decision Day sees them in the playoffs. At the turn of the Leagues Cup, many were already calling for Laurent Courtois’ job. Now? Five results in their last six. It’s impressive.

      However, their Matchday 37 loss to CLT raises the stakes for the final week of the season.

      16D.C. United ⬆️

      Christian Benteke signed a contract extension in D.C. this year and he has really picked up his performances since. The striker has scored eight goals in nine games for the club since Aug. 24.

      If they can clinch a playoff spot on Decision Day, it will be a remarkable feat. They sit in eighth, occupying an Eastern Conference wildcard slot. A win or a draw and they’re in.
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      15Charlotte FC ⬆️

      Impressive wins over Chicago and Charlotte have them cruising. Onto the postseason.

      14Vancouver Whitecaps ⬇️

      Their brilliant mid-season push is fading, and they’re starting to crumble. They’ve only won two matches since the Leagues Cup ended, and they were against Austin FC and, yep, you guessed it: San Jose.

      Things just are not good at the moment. Very little confidence in this group to make a postseason run.

      13Portland Timbers ⬆️

      Playoffs clinched, job well done.

      Phil Neville has returned Portland to postseason. Now, he just needs to tighten up his leaky defense ahead of a potential run.

      12Houston Dynamo ⬇️

      A 3-0 loss to CITY is a really poor result. Hopefully, Mexico international Hector Herrera returns from injury soon.

      11Colorado Rapids ⬇️

      Three-straight losses heading into the international break, highlighted by a 1-0 defeat at home to the Sounders.

      Chris Armas will need to work some more of his magic to get them going for the postseason.

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      10New York City FC ⬆️

      Alonso Martinez is cooking, and manager Nick Cushing is loving it. A big midweek result over FC Cincinnati and then a thrashing of Nashville have them confident as ever heading into the postseason now.

      • 9Real Salt Lake ⬇️

        Just scraped by San Jose, with U.S. youth international star Diego Luna scoring a late winner. A win is a win, but it hasn’t been pretty.

        8Minnesota United ⬆️

        Put the record on, again, folks. The Loons are Loon-ing.

        A big win over Vancouver on the road has them up to seventh in the West, and they might just avoid a play-in game as a result. Heck, if they get three points on Decision Day, they could end up as high as fifth. Impressive.

        7FC Cincinnati ⬇️

        It’s not clicking at the moment. Winless in their last three, FCC has fallen out of the hierarchy of MLS’ elite.

        Time to see what Pat Noonan will do during this international break to flip their fortunes.

        6Seattle Sounders ⬆️

        Seattle is lighting up the West. Wins over Colorado and Vancouver on back-to-back Matchdays have them cruising. One of the league’s hottest teams at the moment.
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        5Orlando City ⬆️

        Orlando is the best team in MLS we aren’t talking about enough. Matchday 37’s 3-1 victory over FCC highlighted that. They could be the biggest dark-horse this postseason.

        4Los Angeles FC ↔️

        Two-straight shutouts and six points has LAFC ready to take the Galaxy to the wire for the Western Conference title. Six points and a slipup from LA could hand them the No. 1 seed. They have an clash with Vancouver on Oct. 13, before meeting San Jose on Decision Day. The Western Conference will be paying heavy attention towards the city of Los Angeles over the next few days.

        3Los Angeles Galaxy ↔️

        A big 3-1 win over the Rapids and then a 2-1 victory over Austin FC has LA in pole-position for the Western Conference title. It’s simple: win in your regular season finale and you are the 1 seed.

        2Columbus Crew ↔️

        The Crew have every reason to feel a bit begrudged about Miami being handed the Supporters’ Shield in front of the Lower.Com Field faithful Wednesday evening, but they rebounded nicely, defeating the Union 3-2 on Saturday.

        The postseason awaits and the Crew are confident as ever.
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        1Inter Miami ↔️

        Supporters’ Shield champions. That’s it, that’s the message.
        Well done.
        Next up? The MLS All-Time Points and MLS Cup? Stay tuned.