{"id":841345,"date":"2025-04-16T13:11:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T18:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/power-rankings-columbus-crew-vancouver-whitecaps-surpass-inter-miami-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T13:11:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T18:11:54","slug":"power-rankings-columbus-crew-vancouver-whitecaps-surpass-inter-miami-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/power-rankings-columbus-crew-vancouver-whitecaps-surpass-inter-miami-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Rankings: Columbus Crew &#038; Vancouver Whitecaps surpass Inter Miami | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/columbus-crew\/\">Columbus Crew<\/a> got an outstanding goal from a center back, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/vancouver-whitecaps-fc\/\">Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> took down one of Mexico\u2019s biggest clubs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/lionel-messi\/\">Lionel Messi<\/a> went Super Saiyan mode for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/inter-miami-cf\/\">Inter Miami<\/a>. It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><em>As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com and are not the sole fault of the author. This qualifier will continue until further notice.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The \u2018Caps knocked off Pumas in Mexico, then followed it up with one of the beatdowns of the MLS season against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/austin-fc\/\">Austin<\/a>. There&#8217;s zero doubt about who the best team in the Western Conference is right now. They may be the unquestioned best team in MLS. And they\u2019re doing it all without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ryan-gauld\/\">Ryan Gauld<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There are too many impressive things from last week to highlight in one blurb. We could focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/brian-white\/\">Brian White<\/a> scoring four (4!) goals against Austin, or go with yet another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-league\/2024\/\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> win in Mexico despite failing to grab a lead in the home leg, or we could note that they\u2019re top of the league in points <em>and<\/em> expected goal differential. This is one of the best stretches we\u2019ve seen in MLS. The \u2018Caps are a wagon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>No one tabbed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/daniel-gazdag\/\">D\u00e1niel Gazdag<\/a> as the newest attacking DP in Columbus after Cucho\u2019s departure, but here we are. The Crew sent a bunch of cash <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/philadelphia-union\/\">Philadelphia<\/a>\u2019s way, adding him to a side that hasn\u2019t fallen off too much without their former star. Will he elevate the Columbus attack to its former level?<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, the Crew keep piling up points. They\u2019re still undefeated after taking down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/st-louis-city-sc\/\">St. Louis<\/a> on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>For a moment, it looked like those of us in the media would have to start working on our \u201cWhat does another Concacaf Champions Cup exit mean for the Messi-era Miami legacy???\u201d columns. You were all spared. At least for a little longer.<\/p>\n<p>Miami somehow found a way back from a 2-0 deficit (even with the away-goals rule in effect) and stunned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\/\">LAFC<\/a> in a 3-2 aggregate win. The Herons are into the semifinals, where they\u2019ll face surface-of-the-sun-hot Vancouver. Remember, they <em>can<\/em> keep getting away with it. They\u2019re better <em>and luckier<\/em> than almost everyone they come across. And the main reason is a certain Argentine No. 10:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GtMj0fUVHn4?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Miami vs LAFC | 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup | Quarterfinals\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When Sunday&#8217;s scoreless draw in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/chicago-fire-fc\/\">Chicago<\/a> rolled around, Miami seemed a little out of gas. But hey, they&#8217;re still undefeated through eight games before this weekend&#8217;s massive test against Columbus. That game will be held in nearby Cleveland at Huntington Bank Field.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/minnesota-united-fc\/\">Loons<\/a> weren\u2019t at their sharpest in a 0-0 draw at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/toronto-fc\/\">Toronto<\/a>. They still grabbed a point to stay second behind Vancouver at the top of the West, despite being practically forced to have the ball more. Minnesota had 49.2% possession, well above their league-low average of 36.3%.<\/p>\n<p>The underlying numbers love them, and they&#8217;re seven games unbeaten, but how far can this counter-attacking style take them as opponents start to adjust?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/fc-cincinnati\/\">Cincy<\/a> took care of business in a 1-0 win over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/d-c-united\/\">D.C. United<\/a>. That\u2019s two straight 1-0 wins, three straight one-goal wins and four games undefeated. They\u2019ve been professional since exiting Concacaf Champions Cup play. Oh, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/matt-miazga\/\">Matt Miazga<\/a> is back. There should be even more clean sheets in their future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Good to see ya 2\u20e31\u20e3 ???? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/E5BbKFS1aM\">pic.twitter.com\/E5BbKFS1aM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fccincinnati\/status\/1911232592747147638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/pep-biel\/\">Pep Biel<\/a> made the difference in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/charlotte-fc\/\">Charlotte<\/a>&#8216;s 1-0 win at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/cf-montreal\/\">Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. Doesn&#8217;t that storyline sound familiar? Biel is carrying the Charlotte attack right now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">???? ????????????????????????????. ???? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????\u2014???????????? ???????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ????????????. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jloLJZc4LL\">pic.twitter.com\/jloLJZc4LL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CharlotteFC\/status\/1911820345222250810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-diego-fc\/\">San Diego<\/a> went to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/colorado-rapids\/\">Colorado<\/a> and came falling back down to Earth. The 3-2 defeat felt generous. In between beating up on some of the league\u2019s best teams, the expansion side has shown a few flaws here and there.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Union shipped D\u00e1niel Gazdag off to Columbus to start the week and ended it by getting shut out for the second straight match. The underlying numbers still love Philly, but that\u2019s three games without a win, three goals in their last five games and a new gap to replace in attack. It\u2019s fair to wonder what\u2019s in store after their impressive start.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>After eliminating Columbus in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, it seemed like LAFC had started to work through some of their big-game issues. Then they took a 2-0 aggregate lead over Inter Miami at the start of their quarterfinal away leg, and it seemed like we might have to start considering them a genuine contender for a CCC title. Not quite.<\/p>\n<p>LAFC allowed three unanswered goals, couldn&#8217;t capitalize on further opportunities, and that was that. Does the game model limit them in these situations?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The good news? Back in the league, LAFC took care of business against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-jose-earthquakes\/\">San Jose<\/a>. And despite an uneven start to the year, they&#8217;re still seventh in the West.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/sam-surridge\/\">Sam Surridge<\/a> rescued all three points for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/nashville-sc\/\">Nashville<\/a> with a stoppage-time penalty. The winner could have come earlier than that, though. After conceding first against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/real-salt-lake\/\">RSL<\/a>, Nashville piled on chances en route to a 2-1 win. Nashville (yes, Nashville) lead the league in expected goals created through eight games, per American Soccer Analysis.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Make it back-to-back 0-0 draws for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/orlando-city-sc\/\">Lions<\/a>. They\u2019re still third league-wide in goals scored with 15, but the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/martin-ojeda\/\">Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/marco-pasalic\/\">Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a> have cooled off as of late.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>We may not see a more up-and-down stretch of form anywhere else this season. The Rapids followed up their 2-0 loss at Vancouver last week (zero shots on target) with an impressive 3-2 win over San Diego. The bad news is they\u2019ve traded wins and losses over their last five games. Seems like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/houston-dynamo-fc\/\">Houston<\/a> might be due for three points this weekend!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kevin-kelsy\/\">Kevin Kelsy<\/a>\u2019s brace led the way for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/portland-timbers\/\">Portland<\/a> in a hectic 4-2 win at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/sporting-kansas-city\/\">Sporting KC<\/a>. Kelsy, a former U22 Initiative striker for FC Cincinnati, is up to three goals in three starts this season.<\/p>\n<p>The Timbers think the 20-year-old Venezuelan can become a star. If he does, it will be a major boost to a team that seems to be finding its footing. Portland have taken 11 points from their last five games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kevin Kelsy brace ????????????<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TimbersFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TimbersFC<\/a> back on top again. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eRhFyRSHVN\">pic.twitter.com\/eRhFyRSHVN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS\/status\/1911505846355350014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/chicago-fire-fc\/\">Chicago<\/a> looked just fine in a 0-0 draw against Inter Miami. It\u2019s never all that disappointing when you take a point off the Herons these days. And a club-record 62,358 fans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/chicago-fire-set-attendance-record-as-inter-miami-visit-soldier-field\">showed up to Soldier Field<\/a> to see a solid performance.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">History made. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/cf97?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#cf97<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QPbUNWO7F7\">pic.twitter.com\/QPbUNWO7F7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChicagoFire\/status\/1911544497239986254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Austin&#8217;s trip to Vancouver, uh, did not go well. At least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/brad-stuver\/\">Brad Stuver<\/a> got a good story to tell:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>\u2014 Tom Bogert (@tombogert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tombogert\/status\/1911206654521360531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>After a 0-0 draw against Orlando, is it time to start worrying about DP forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/eric-maxim-choupo-moting\/\">Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting<\/a>? He has one non-penalty goal on 10 shots through eight starts. On a related note, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/new-york-red-bulls\/\">New York<\/a> have been shut out three times this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/seattle-sounders-fc\/\">Seattle<\/a> scored early and put <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/fc-dallas\/\">Dallas<\/a> in a headlock en route to a much-needed 1-0 road win. It\u2019s mostly good news for the Sounders. They hadn\u2019t won in their previous four games and got DP attacker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/pedro-de-la-vega\/\">Pedro de la Vega<\/a> back in the starting lineup. However, center back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jackson-ragen\/\">Jackson Ragen<\/a> picked up a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing seems to come without caveats for Seattle these days.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Dallas put just one shot on frame in their 1-0 home loss to Seattle. Also, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/petar-musa\/\">Petar Musa<\/a> sprained his ankle. Not great!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>After going winless in three, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/new-york-city-football-club\/\">NYCFC<\/a> picked up arguably their most impressive result of the year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/alonso-martinez\/\">Alonso Mart\u00ednez<\/a> scored his fifth goal of the season as they beat the Union, 1-0, at Citi Field. You can\u2019t help but wonder where this team would be if they had held onto late leads against Miami and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/atlanta-united\/\">Atlanta<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Quakes were off the pace against LAFC at BMO Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>No one should doubt their attack; they\u2019re second in the West in xG created. However, there&#8217;s some concern about the goalkeeper spot. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/daniel\/\">Daniel<\/a> left early against LAFC after getting injured. As we saw last year, this team badly needs him healthy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Another swing at a two-game winning streak, another miss for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/real-salt-lake\/\">RSL<\/a>. Maybe a new DP striker will join them soon?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>???????? Sources: Real Salt Lake in advanced talks to sign Slovakia int&#8217;l forward R\u00f3bert Bo\u017een\u00edk from Boavista.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing totally agreed yet. Final details needed, but talks ongoing. Would be DP (for now, at least).<\/p>\n<p>RSL working on multiple targets.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h2tvmvGenM\">https:\/\/t.co\/h2tvmvGenM<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Tom Bogert (@tombogert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tombogert\/status\/1909986910463832129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/atlanta-united\/\">Atlanta<\/a> are off to the worst eight-game start in club history. We&#8217;ll let the MLS Wrap-Up crew take it away:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>They still haven\u2019t scored a goal (on their own) from open play, but it hasn\u2019t mattered the last two weeks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/carles-gil\/\">Carles Gil<\/a> converted a first-half penalty and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/new-england-revolution\/\">Revs<\/a> held on the rest of the way as they won 1-0 in Atlanta. They\u2019ve pulled themselves out of the Eastern Conference basement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/joao-klauss\/\">Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/a> broke his scoring drought, but the Crew were ultimately too much to handle. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/st-louis-city-sc\/\">St. Louis<\/a> have lost four in a row and are last in the West in goals scored (five).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When you\u2019re leading 1-0 and up a man on one of the league\u2019s least in-form teams, you really should see out a win. Instead, Houston dropped points to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/la-galaxy\/\">Galaxy<\/a> despite LA picking up a red card 28 minutes in. The Dynamo are still looking for their second win of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Still no wins for Toronto, but their defense seems much improved. Draws against Vancouver, Miami and Minnesota look pretty good, all things considered.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The new-manager bounce faded away in a 4-2 loss to Portland. Sporting KC still have their work cut out for them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>D.C. United haven\u2019t won since March 8. It\u2019s their only win of the season and it came against Sporting KC. This is not going well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It didn\u2019t go exactly as planned, but the Galaxy rescued a point against Houston despite going down a man and a goal inside 30 minutes. That point only does so much, though. They\u2019re still winless this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Montr\u00e9al finally returned home after a seven-game road trip. It didn\u2019t help much. They created plenty of chances, but couldn\u2019t get back in the game after going down 1-0 to Charlotte early. Still no wins and just two points for this squad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/power-rankings-columbus-crew-vancouver-whitecaps-surpass-inter-miami\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Sharie Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer The Columbus Crew got an outstanding goal from a center back, Vancouver Whitecaps FC took down one of Mexico\u2019s biggest clubs and Lionel Messi went Super Saiyan mode for Inter Miami. It was truly a week unlike any other. As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":841346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[414,24024,2005],"tags":[6008,13437],"class_list":{"0":"post-841345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-power","8":"category-rankings","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-power","11":"tag-rankings"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}