MLS Power Rankings: Sporting Kansas City Still No. 1, New York Red Bulls Rise
The MLS standings are a logjam after Week 20. The first to sixth-placed teams in the Western Conference are separated by just three points. The Eastern Conference is just as tight, with six points dividing second to sixth.
However, with the Gold Cup still in progress, a few sides are still affected by the call-ups, such as the Seattle Sounders.
Other sides dealt with injuries and suspensions this past weekend like the Vancouver Whitecaps; however, they fought for a well-earned point versus the Portland Timbers.
With a few of the league's top sides picking up wins, here's how the MLS power rankings look after the weekend.
20. Chicago Fire (Previous: 20)
1 of 20
The Chicago Fire did not have a fun week. They lost back-to-back games against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday and Sunday, which has left them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The 1-0 defeat could have been much worse for the Fire. They conceded a penalty just seconds after kickoff, then were reduced to 10 men in the 50th minute just as they started to muster some chances. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson had to make countless saves due to his team's inadequate attack.
Until Chicago gains some consistent form, it will be anchored at No. 20 for the foreseeable future.
19. New York City FC (Previous: 19)
2 of 20
New York City FC was thoroughly dominated by the New England Revolution on Saturday. The 1-0 score was not indicative of the significant disparity in quality on the night.
The red card to Ned Grabavoy didn't help NYCFC on the road, but even before he was sent off, the expansion side was struggling up front. David Villa was completely marked out of the game, and Patrick Mullins had some shots with only one hitting the target.
Midfielder Frank Lampard missed out on this game due to his calf injury. Andrea Pirlo also hasn't made his debut yet, so creativity shouldn't be an issue going forward.
Until then, NYCFC remains at No. 19.
18. Philadelphia Union (Previous: 14)
3 of 20
The Philadelphia Union was ripped apart by Sebastian Giovinco and Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon. The final score was 2-1, but the result flattered the Union.
The defense was abysmal in trying to deal with Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Jonathan Osorio and Marco Delgado. All four players were given way too much space, which they used to punish Philadelphia on several occasions.
The Union also failed to test goalkeeper Joe Bendik for the majority of the game. The one time he was forced to make a save, Conor Casey scored a late consolation. If Philadelphia had been able to expose a shaky TFC back line on the counter, it could've earned at least a draw.
Due to another flaccid performance, the Union slips to No. 18.
17. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 16)
4 of 20
The Houston Dynamo was shut out 2-0 by Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, keeping the Dynamo even further away from the playoffs.
The red card to Kofi Sarkodie early in the second half was a detriment, but Houston's attack was woeful yet again. Brad Davis and Will Bruin didn't attempt a single shot, per the official MLS website.
The Dynamo was hit hard by Gold Cup call-ups, but it's clear that the team needs Erick Torres in the lineup as soon as possible. Once the Mexican is fully integrated, Houston has an outside chance of making the postseason.
For now, Houston has slipped to No. 17 in order to make way for the in-form Colorado Rapids.
16. Colorado Rapids (Previous: 17)
5 of 20
The Colorado Rapids may be at the bottom of the Western Conference, but the side's three-game winning streak is tough to ignore at the moment.
Colorado started this run with a victory at home over the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Rapids' most recent triumph was a 1-0 win against the Seattle Sounders, which was a monumental result for the team.
Seattle was without Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Brad Evans. On the other hand, the Rapids were on the road and the Sounders had lost just twice at home before Saturday.
It was a very impressive win that has finally moved the Rapids up one spot.
15. Montreal Impact (Previous: 15)
6 of 20
The Montreal Impact played fairly well against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday evening, but despite controlling the majority of possession, the Impact lost 2-1.
Montreal's individual mistakes cost the team in the first half. Ambroise Oyongo's throw was too much to handle for Laurent Ciman, then Marco Donadel coughed up the ball before Benny Feilhaber opened the scoring.
The Impact was also exposed on the counter before Dom Dwyer scored. Playing a high line against Sporting KC is dangerous given the pace up front and the vision of the midfield.
Ignacio Piatti cut the deficit in half in the 59th minute, but the Impact couldn't test goalkeeper Tim Melia enough to pull level.
However, given the distractions Montreal dealt with prior to this game, the side catches a break this week and stay at No. 15.
14. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 18)
7 of 20
Real Salt Lake earned a much-needed 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The victory snapped a four-game winless skid and moved RSL into seventh place in the Western Conference.
Javier Morales scored yet again on Saturday, and Sebastian Jaime has been tremendous in a central role. Jaime didn't play against the Dynamo, but he has four goals in his last five games.
RSL was also without Nick Rimando, Chris Schuler, Demar Phillips, Elias Vasquez and Kyle Beckerman, who are all at the Gold Cup. That's reason enough to move Salt Lake up to No. 14.
13. San Jose Earthquakes (Previous: 10)
8 of 20
Thirty minutes into the California Clasico on Friday, the San Jose Earthquakes had a 2-0 lead against the LA Galaxy. At the full-time whistle, LA won 5-2.
Quincy Amarikwa's brace in the first half wasn't enough to soften the blow of Steven Gerrard's scintillating performance in his MLS debut. He and the rest of the Galaxy forwards couldn't be stopped and thoroughly deserved their win.
San Jose has now lost three straight games, which has sent the team down to 13th in the power rankings this week.
12. Orlando City SC (Previous: 11)
9 of 20
Orlando City SC vs. the New York Red Bulls was supposed to be a thrilling match. However, it was overshadowed by some questionable decisions from referee Fotis Bazakos.
The Red Bulls won 2-0 but played against 10 men for about an hour. Orlando City's Cyle Larin was sent off for what was deemed to be a "studs-up challenge" though his feet didn't collide with Sacha Kljestan.
Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath admitted the referee made incorrect decisions that affected both teams, per Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel:
"We had a decision that cost us again last week and I think to be fair for both sides, the referee has made so many wrong decisions this evening -- for both teams, by the way. And I don't know what we do. Because I can't say anything. I tried to ring the referees last week, but nobody gets back to you. I'm fed up with coming in and talking about them. This game is not about them, it's about players -- 30,000 people come to watch footballers be as committed as they had been.
"
Despite the disadvantage, Cristian Higuita, Kaka and Carlos Rivas all created some quality chances. On the other hand, New York was more clinical and deserved the win, so for that reason, the Lions move down one spot this week.
11. New England Revolution (Previous: 13)
10 of 20
The New England Revolution snapped a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over 10-man New York City on Saturday. It wasn't pretty, but it was a much-needed victory for the Revolution.
Ned Grabavoy's red card definitely helped the Revs, but they were also playing with a rotated defense. London Woodberry moved from right-back to center back with Jeremy Hall slotting into Woodberry's regular position. Collectively, the back line conceded just nine shots, per the official MLS website.
Lee Nguyen scored the only goal of the match and had an opportunity to double the lead late in the game, but NYCFC's Josh Saunders made the save. Teal Bunbury and Chris Tierney also had terrific chances, but Saunders thwarted them as well.
New England is still in a playoff spot and looked much more confident on both sides of the pitch. The Revolution moves up to No. 11 after a convincing performance.
10. Columbus Crew (Previous: 12)
11 of 20
The Columbus Crew moved into second place in the Eastern Conference after recording two straight wins against the Chicago Fire.
Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay were excellent yet again. Kamara bagged the decisive goal in the first match with Finlay recording the assist. Both players scored in Sunday's game as well.
The Crew may be in second, but this side has also played 21 games. The New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC and Orlando City SC have matches in hand over Columbus, which is why it's placed at No. 10 this week.
9. Seattle Sounders (Previous: 6)
12 of 20
The Seattle Sounders continue to fall without Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. They lost 1-0 to the lowly Colorado Rapids on Saturday, the team's fifth defeat in its last six games.
Seattle had plenty of chances to score in this match. Thomas, Lamar Neagle and Cristian Roldan all had terrific opportunities, but goalkeeper Clint Irwin pulled off some miraculous saves.
The Sounders will eventually regain their early-season form once Martins and Dempsey are in the lineup. Until then, they will keep moving down the power rankings due to the team's scoring woes.
8. Toronto FC (Previous: 9)
13 of 20
Toronto FC nearly wasted another wonderful performance from Sebastian Giovinco on Saturday afternoon. The Italian scored a goal and assisted another in a 2-1 victory, but the Philadelphia Union nearly stole a point in the latter stages of the match.
Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Jonathan Osorio and Marco Delgado were causing problems for the Union defense with their movement. It should've been a wider margin of victory because TFC nearly scored two more goals.
However, even though Philadelphia's attack barely tested Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik, Conor Casey managed to cut the deficit down to one late in the game. The Union failed to generate another chance, but it has to worry TFC head coach Greg Vanney.
The win moves the Reds up to No. 8, but had they been more clinical, they could have made the top five this week.
7. D.C. United (Previous: 7)
14 of 20
D.C. United is still leading the Eastern Conference, but the gap is starting to close after a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas on Saturday.
It was a close game judging by the score, but Dallas was clearly the better side. The Hoops registered 26 shots to D.C.'s six, per the official MLS website.
Despite the lopsided margin, Dallas only managed to score twice from eight attempts on target. If it wasn't for the late Fabian Castillo goal in second-half stoppage time, D.C. could've nicked a point.
Because United almost stole a point and still remain on top of the East, it stays at No. 7 this week.
6. New York Red Bulls (Previous: 8)
15 of 20
The New York Red Bulls defeated 10-man Orlando City SC 2-0 on Saturday. Even though the officiating was questionable for both teams, the Red Bulls were much more clinical and walked out as the worthy victors.
Sacha Kljestan scored a wonderful goal from distance to give New York the 1-0 lead. Mike Grella doubled the advantage late in the second half to clinch the victory.
The defense was solid once again without full-backs Kemar Lawrence (Gold Cup) and Chris Duvall (broken tibia). The Red Bulls move up to No. 6 after recording their fourth win in their last five games.
5. Portland Timbers (Previous: 4)
16 of 20
The Portland Timbers had to settle for a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night.
A full-strength Timbers side failed to pick up a home win against the Whitecaps, who were missing their two starting center backs.
Vancouver managed to record more shots than Portland and had twice as many quality scoring chances. The Whitecaps were also missing Pedro Morales, so this is two points lost for the Timbers as opposed to one gained.
Due to Portland's failure to win in back-to-back matches, it falls one spot to No. 5.
4. Vancouver Whitecaps (Previous: 5)
17 of 20
The Vancouver Whitecaps picked up a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers thanks to an unlikely source. Matias Laba scored his second-ever MLS goal to bag the equalizer for Vancouver.
The Whitecaps were also missing Kendall Waston and Pa-Modou Kah at center back. However, Tim Parker and Christian Dean were very solid apart from the sequence that lead to the Timbers' goal. Pedro Morales was also unavailable for the fifth straight game due to injury.
Despite all of these absences, Vancouver had a few quality scoring chances. Kekuta Manneh was thwarted by goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and defender Nat Borchers on two separate occasions. Mauro Rosales also narrowly missed the goal with his header.
All things considered, Vancouver did well to claim a point in Portland, which is why it moves up to No. 4 this week.
3. FC Dallas (Previous: 3)
18 of 20
FC Dallas is now in first place in the Western Conference after defeating the East's No. 1 seed D.C. United 2-1 on Saturday.
Fabian Castillo's goal in stoppage time clinched the late victory, but Dallas was thoroughly dominant throughout the game. The Hoops recorded 26 shots to D.C.'s six, per the official MLS website. However, the Texans wasted almost every attempt and nearly gifted a point to D.C.
Nonetheless, Dallas picked up the win to extend its winning streak to four games and is now the best in the West. However, because the LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City also picked up victories, the Hoops stay at No. 3.
2. LA Galaxy (Previous: 2)
19 of 20
It was the Steven Gerrard show at the StubHub Center on Friday night. The LA Galaxy trounced the San Jose Earthquakes 5-2, but it wasn't smooth sailing throughout the game.
San Jose took a 2-0 lead after 25 minutes through Quincy Amarikwa. The Galaxy quickly recovered after Gerrard won a penalty, which Robbie Keane converted. The ex-Liverpool captain then scored his first-ever MLS goal before setting up Keane for his second.
Keane finished with a hat trick, but Gerrard stole the headlines. With Giovani dos Santos set to make his debut for LA, the Galaxy will be incredibly tough to stop.
The win was convincing in the end, but due to Sporting Kansas City's victory, LA stays at No. 2 this week.
1. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 1)
20 of 20
Another game, another win for Sporting Kansas City against the Montreal Impact 2-1 at home on Saturday night thanks to goals from Benny Feilhaber and Dom Dwyer.
It wasn't a convincing result, but SKC made the Impact pay for some costly mistakes. Marco Donadel turned over the ball prior to Feilhaber's goal, then Montreal was caught napping in defense before Dwyer beat the offside trap for the second strike of the night.
SKC has now won seven of its last 11 games, losing just once in that span. As long as they keep winning, the 2013 MLS Cup winners will stay at No. 1.
Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.
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