Technical issues forced a brief hiatus, but the power rankings are back!
As a reminder, the rankings use an all new model I’ve obnoxiously titled the Overall Performance Index. Click here for a full breakdown of how the model works.
Week 21 Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Score | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City FC | 25.97 | — |
| 2 | LAFC | 22.67 | — |
| 3 | Philadelphia Union | 22.22 | — |
| 4 | Austin FC | 16.45 | — |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls | 14.03 | +1 |
| 6 | FC Dallas | 10.36 | -1 |
| 7 | LA Galaxy | 9.73 | -1 |
| 8 | Nashville SC | 9.67 | — |
| 9 | CF Montréal | 9.17 | +2 |
| 10 | Columbus Crew | 8.41 | +2 |
| 11 | Portland Timbers | 7.93 | -1 |
| 12 | Minnesota United | 7.77 | +2 |
| 13 | Colorado Rapids | 7.71 | — |
| 14 | Real Salt Lake | 6.71 | +4 |
| 15 | FC Cincinnati | 6.63 | -6 |
| 16 | Atlanta United | 5.68 | — |
| 17 | Seattle Sounders | 4.73 | -2 |
| 18 | New England Revolution | 3.22 | +1 |
| 19 | Charlotte FC | 2.68 | -2 |
| 20 | Chicago Fire | 2.48 | +2 |
| 21 | Houston Dynamo | 2.25 | -1 |
| 22 | Orlando City SC | 0.34 | -1 |
| 23 | Inter Miami CF | -1.07 | — |
| 24 | San Jose Earthquakes | -2.70 | — |
| 25 | Vancouver Whitecaps | -3.42 | — |
| 26 | DC United | -6.78 | — |
| 27 | Toronto FC | -8.81 | — |
| 28 | Sporting KC | -9.99 | — |
Not a ton of movement at the top or the bottom. NYCFC continue to be ranked above LAFC, despite being four points behind in the Supporters Shield race. The OPI model tends to really like NYC’s underlying numbers, rating them above 2021 Supporters Shield winners New England Revolution for nearly the entire season. The Pigeons ended up winning MLS Cup, so it seems the model was right.
I thought Minnesota United would break into the top 10. They’ve won four of their last five and are tied with Austin FC for the best current form in the league. They’ve climbed up from 19th to 12th in the last couple weeks and look set to pass Portland Timbers if their form continues.
Nashville SC have hung onto 8th place, despite a really poor run of form a couple weeks ago. This is in part because they had built up a solid score earlier in the season, and partially because no one below them really challenged. A 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders gives them a bump, and their score actually increased after a 2-1 loss to LAFC in which they performed well.
With the technical issues resolved, the Power Rankings will be back each week. If you have complaints, direct them to Davey Shepherd.
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