Soccer <\/p>\n
Lionel Messi<\/a> had five goal contributions in one game, several good teams struggled during a multi-game week, and Atlanta<\/a> failed to win on the road against the Red Bulls<\/a>. It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with<\/em> MLSsoccer.com<\/em> and are not the rankings of a lone wolf blogger. The author does get a little rush when the voting moves your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Welp.<\/p>\n Look, they didn\u2019t get the storybook ending (unless you\u2019re reading some truly bleak bedtime stories), but that shouldn\u2019t take away from one of the most impressive ConcaChampions<\/a> runs we\u2019ve seen from an MLS side. Taking down Saprissa, Monterrey, Pumas and Inter Miami<\/a> is incredible.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still plenty to play for now. They’re second in the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings with two games in hand, and there’s no time to mope. The \u2018Caps have a huge stretch coming with matchups against Seattle<\/a>, Columbus<\/a>, San Diego<\/a> and LAFC<\/a> due up over the rest of June.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A four-point week and a four-point lead at the top of the Eastern Conference as we reach the midpoint of the season isn\u2019t bad at all. They would have preferred to put more than one of their 23 shots against 10-man Dallas<\/a> on target in Saturday\u2019s 0-0 draw, but they\u2019re unbeaten in their last nine MLS matches and atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They followed up a 1-0 loss<\/a> at Seattle with a 2-0 win over Austin<\/a> on Saturday. That win has them tied for second on points in the Western Conference after their first half-season of existence. None of their success in their first semester has felt like a fluke, and their underlying numbers back that up. Don\u2019t take for granted how impressive this is.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n San Diego\u2019s very own. pic.twitter.com\/4TiWl2izd8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Loons<\/a> took on two of the West\u2019s best and came out with four points. They played Vancouver to a 0-0 draw<\/a> on Wednesday before putting three past the Sounders in a 3-2 win at Lumen Field, their first-ever victory in Seattle. At the midway mark in the season, they\u2019re tied on points for second place in the conference and third in the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s reason to believe they\u2019ll be in the hunt for the Shield the rest of the way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Back-to-back 2-2 draws against Columbus and NYCFC<\/a> didn\u2019t make for the most impressive week of the season, but it did run their unbeaten run in all comps to 10 games. They aren\u2019t far off the pace from the top of the East and Walker Zimmerman<\/a> is back. The underlying numbers love them. It\u2019s pretty much never been better in Nashville<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 LAFC (@LAFC) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Igor Jesus<\/a> scored a late equalizer and Denis Bouanga<\/a> scored an extra-time winner to give LAFC a 2-1 win<\/a> over Club Am\u00e9rica and send them hauling a wheelbarrow full of cash<\/a> to the Club World Cup<\/a>. The win helped them vanquish some big-game demons and gave them a little bit of petty cash to build out their roster the rest of the way.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll face Chelsea, ES Tunis and Flamengo in the group stage of the Club World Cup. They open against Chelsea on June 16 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Previous: Bye | Next: 6\/8 vs. SKC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Well, Orlando City<\/a> might have gone and woken Inter Miami up. Since their 3-0 loss<\/a> to the Lions, the Herons have earned a 3-3 draw<\/a> with Philly<\/a>, a 4-2 win<\/a> over CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> and a 5-1 beatdown against the Crew. Lionel Messi racked up two goals and three assists in the win against Columbus. He\u2019s added five goal contributions in a single game twice since arriving in MLS.<\/p>\n Now, Inter Miami get a week off to get ready for Al Ahly, Porto and Palmeiras in the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Three assists. Last night, Messi recorded 5+ goal contributions in an MLS game for the second time. pic.twitter.com\/hzCg000pyA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Well, that could have gone a lot better.<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 three-game winning streak (that included that impressive win over Inter Miami) came to a halt in Atlanta after C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a>\u2019s second-half red card helped hand the Five Stripes a 3-2 comeback win<\/a>. Orlando followed that up with an even more concerning 3-1 loss at home to Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll be fine in the end, but their tendency to give up three goals out of nowhere is becoming a notable trend. They\u2019ve allowed three or more goals in four games this season. Three of those have come in their last six MLS games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew were missing a couple of key players against Miami, but not so many that we can outright ignore a 5-1 thrashing. They were well, well off the pace in this one and were a bit lucky to escape with a point against Nashville earlier in the week.<\/p>\n They\u2019re now winless in their last six. It\u2019s becoming apparent this group isn\u2019t scraping against their ceiling like the other Wilfried Nancy-led Crew sides.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Just when it feels like the Sounders might be figuring everything out, they stumble. Seattle earned a 1-0 win over San Diego midweek before falling, 3-2, at home to Minnesota United. They haven\u2019t been able to get in a groove and stay in a groove.<\/p>\n Now, they\u2019ve got one more match \u2013 a trip to post-CCC final Vancouver \u2013 before getting ready to face a Club World Cup group of Botafogo, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid and UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The cracks are starting to show. Cincy<\/a> are winless in four now after blowing multiple leads against FC Dallas in a 3-3 draw<\/a> and losing outright to D.C. United<\/a>. They\u2019re still sitting in second place in the East, but that\u2019s in spite of their +1 goal differential and concerning underlying numbers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Red Bulls looked a whole lot more like a team coming off an MLS Cup appearance this week. They started with a 4-2 win<\/a> over Charlotte<\/a> and then cruised to a win at home against Atlanta. That\u2019s four straight wins in all comps since losing the Hudson River Derby.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Revs<\/a> still haven\u2019t lost in MLS since switching to a three-center-back setup. That switch came nine games ago. They\u2019ve kept six clean sheets in that span, including their 3-0 win over CF Montr\u00e9al this weekend.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Propaganda I\u2019m not falling for: Peyton Miller\u2019s first @MLS<\/a> goal wasn\u2019t a ridiculous volley. ????????#NERevs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jrim2z4SGy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n They took full advantage of a 67th-minute Colorado<\/a> red card and took home a 2-1 win at Providence Park on Wednesday. The Timbers are equal on points, goals scored and goals allowed with Seattle despite having played one fewer game. They\u2019ve been far from perfect, but it still feels like there\u2019s room to grow.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Their two-game winning streak came to an abrupt close midweek in a 3-0 home loss<\/a> to Houston<\/a>. They bounced back with a 2-2 draw against Nashville, but this team continues to be as up and down as they come. Ninth place with 20 goals scored and 20 goals allowed seems right, all considered.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A mixed bag this week. They gave up four to New York in a 4-2 loss, then followed it up with a 2-0 win at Toronto<\/a>. So far, Charlotte are what their record and underlying numbers say they are: A fringe playoff team in the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Quakes<\/a> were also a mixed bag this week, but they\u2019ve been a mixed bag all season, haven\u2019t they?<\/p>\n They earned a 1-0 win<\/a> over the Galaxy<\/a> before sputtering over the weekend against St. Louis<\/a> in a 2-1 loss. They\u2019re right in the middle of the Western Conference standings with more goals scored than everyone else and more goals allowed than everyone but the Galaxy.<\/p>\n Sidenote: Josef Mart\u00ednez<\/a> is putting up his best numbers since Atlanta. He\u2019s up to seven goals and an assist in 10 starts. Per FBref, he\u2019s fifth in MLS in non-penalty xG.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If there\u2019s gonna be anything in a Chicago Fire FC match, there\u2019s going to be goals. It seems to depend on whether or not the Fire will be the team scoring them. They put three past Orlando in a 3-1 win on Saturday, making it eight of their last nine games in all competitions with three total goals or more. The aggregate score in that span: Chicago, 21; Chicago opponents, 17.<\/p>\n On a related note, per American Soccer Analysis, Chicago are fifth in xG generated per game and dead last in xG allowed per game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Any real chance of turning a 1-1 draw into three points against Portland went away with Wayne Frederick<\/a>\u2019s 67th-minute red card. The Timbers took the lead moments later and ended the Rapids’ two-game winning streak. Only seven teams in the West have a positive goal differential. The Rapids, now sitting in eighth place, are not one of them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Beating NYCFC 3-0 on the road and following it up with a 3-1 loss to Sporting KC<\/a> at home is not the sign of a team that\u2019s turned the corner. This is a very mid-table side right now. Any and all results are possible.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Their record since parting ways with Peter Vermes: 4W-3L-3D. They aren\u2019t setting the world on fire, and they\u2019re not a playoff side yet, but they\u2019re showing signs of life. They rolled Houston in a 3-1 road win over the weekend to make it four straight unbeaten. They\u2019re four points below the playoff line with a game in hand on a few teams in front of them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 50 goals in @MLS<\/a> and nine on the season. Make this man an All-Star \u2b50\ufe0f: https:\/\/t.co\/OWQioMhKEh<\/a>#SportingKC<\/a> | @JoveljicDejan<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HDwZ01z9kI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The schedule makers picked a brutal time to send Atlanta to face the Red Bulls on the road. After a surprising (and pretty well played) 3-2 comeback win over Orlando that gave them a two-game winning streak, the Five Stripes began a six-game road trip in a building they\u2019ve literally never won in. It went about how you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A four-point week against a streaking New England side and a second-place FC Cincinnati side is a very good week for a team hanging below the playoff line. They\u2019ve only lost twice in their last six. That\u2019s an improvement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There are worse weeks to have against two teams at the top of the East. Dallas came back from a two-goal deficit against Cincinnati to earn a draw in a strange 3-3 match midweek and then kept things much quieter in a 0-0 draw with first-place Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Diego Rubio<\/a> rescued a point midweek with a stoppage-time equalizer against RSL<\/a>, but Austin went right back to riding the struggle bus in attack in a 2-0 loss to San Diego on Saturday. They\u2019ve scored two goals or more in a game just once this year, a 2-1 win<\/a> over the same San Diego side that just blanked them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Allowing a late equalizer to Austin felt bad enough, but then they became the first team all year to lose to the Galaxy. RSL are winless in their last seven now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Olof Mellberg is officially out after just 15 games in charge. His hyper-defensive personnel selections didn\u2019t click for St. Louis and now they\u2019re looking for their third head coach in two and a half seasons of existence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nothing doing this week for Toronto after losses to Philadelphia and Charlotte.<\/p>\n They\u2019re 14th in the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n And let that be a lesson to everyone. No one keeps the Galaxy winless for 17 games in a row.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 4-2 loss at Inter Miami and a 3-0 loss to New England (featuring a red card from Giacomo Vrioni<\/a> against his former team) made for a rough week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Two goals.
One ????.<\/p>\n\n
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