MLS Power Rankings: Columbus Crew, Inter Miami Stay Undefeated After Matchday 6 | OneFootball

As players returned from international duty worldwide, the sixth week of MLS continued as clubs closed out the second month of the season.

While Lionel Messi only took a couple minutes to score, he was far from the only star this weekend, with highlight moments from FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano, Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi and many others.

Sports Illustrated dives into MLS Power Rankings after Matchday 6, which saw the list of undefeated teams shrink to just Inter Miami CF and Columbus Crew SC. If you missed Matchday 5's ratings, check that out too.

MLS Power Rankings after Matchday 6: Clubs 30-16

30. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 27) 29. New England Revolution (Previous: 30) 28. CF Montreal (Previous: 28) 27. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 26) 26. New York Red Bulls (Previous: 25) 25. Toronto FC (Previous: 29) 24. LA Galaxy (Previous: 22) 23. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 21) 22. FC Dallas (Previous: 23) 21. Portland Timbers (Previous: 24) 20. D.C United (Previous: 20) 19. Nashville SC (Previous: 16) 18. Chicago Fire FC (Previous: 20) 17. Seattle Sounders FC (Previous: 15) 16. San Jose Earthquakes (Previous: 11)

15.  St. Louis CITY SC (Previous: 14)

St. Louis CITY SC have established a great defensive identity but are struggling to score goals in 2025 / Jeff Le-Imagn Images

With Olof Mellberg at the helm, St. Louis CITY SC won’t be an attacking side. However, the 1–0 loss to Austin FC is the fourth time they’ve been held off the scoresheet entirely this season and the second match in a row that they’ve lost 1–0.

This team will be in tight games all season and will compete even with the best clubs. However, they must improve their finishing rate to make any of it matter. They had 14 shots against Austin FC this weekend but only hit the net three times and failed to score. They’ve not scored in the last 255 minutes they’ve played.

14. Colorado Rapids FC (Previous: 18)

Djordje Mihailovic is an outstanding player, and he would be one of the league’s main superstars if he played for any club other than the Colorado Rapids.

This weekend, he scored twice in the Rapids dominant 2–0 win over Charlotte FC, helping control the game initially from the left wing before transitioning into an attacking midfield role, where he could link up with Joshua Atencio and Rafael Navarro.

Colorado took 15 shots and only scored twice, but it was an attacking domination combined with elite defending, posting a clean sheet against a Charlotte FC side that has scored goals for fun in 2025.

13. Orlando City SC (Previous: 19)

It came down to the final moments, but Orlando City SC did enough off a late free kick to beat the LA Galaxy 2–1 and pick up their second straight win.

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While the Lions have plenty to do to improve their defensive structure, the trio of designated players have been amongst the best in MLS this season, with Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda combining for 11 goals in six games.

They’ve scored 15 goals this season and are a dynamic, fun team to watch. Over the next few weeks, their main questions will focus on improving their defense and whether the attacking DPs can maintain the same production level.

12. Atlanta United (Previous: 13)

Miguel Almiron scored his first goal since 2018 for Atlanta United as they beat NYCFC 4–3 / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

A 4–3 win is always plenty of fun for fans but not so much for head coaches. At least for Atlanta United’s Ronny Deila, there was a lot to like attacking-wise, even as the defense faltered against NYCFC, the club he won an MLS Cup with in 2021.

Emmanuel Latte Lath continued his strong form, scoring his fourth goal of the season. Meanwhile, Miguel Almiron found the back of the net for the Five Stripes for the first time since he left the club for the Premier League in 2018.

While the attack has no doubt started to click after an expensive offseason, they also proved they can take advantage of other teams' mistakes—punishing NYCFC on three of their goals, which were blunders from the Pigeons’ backline.

Allowing three won’t be something they hope to repeat, but making the most of their opportunities and fighting back from a deficit is undoubtedly a positive sign for Atlanta.

11. Columbus Crew SC (Previous: 9)

Columbus Crew SC are still a strong team, even after the offseason departures of Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez. However, head coach Wilfried Nancy has yet to find a consistent answer to their attack, despite their 2–1 win over D.C. United.

Diego Rossi had the best performance of any player on Matchday 6 with his two goals and looked okay in a partnership with Max Arfsten, who had shifted into midfield, but that doesn’t seem to be something that will be consistent moving forward.

At just 27, Rossi will be a key member of the team for years to come, but adding a striker in the summer transfer window is likely key to getting the most out of him and the rest of the group.

10. New York City FC (Previously: 8)

Oh no, Thiago Martins. As a defender in MLS, this shouldn’t be a mistake you make as one of the few DP defenders.

Going up 3–1 within the first hour was great, but letting that lead slip away into no points is dismal and the kind of result that can kill any confidence buildup. Finding a way to bounce back against Minnesota United next week is critical to ensure the leaky defending and communication errors don’t become a trend.

On the bright side, Hannes Wolf continued to thrive, scoring a brace to bring him to four goal contributions on the season.

9. Charlotte FC (Previous: 5)

Charlotte FC are an exceptionally fun team to watch. Still, they faltered against the Colorado Rapids and had little answer as they fell 2–0 without strong performances from returning international stars Liel Abada and Patrick Agyemang. At the same time, Wilfried Zaha looked to lack energy, and the team sat back, putting themselves in a challenging position to fully harness their counter-attacking abilities.

Dean Smith’s side have yet to win an away match this season, despite thriving at home; a factor they’ll have to solve if they want to be seen with any contending legitimacy as the season continues on.

8. Austin FC (Previous: 12)

Austin FC might not be playing the prettiest soccer, and they’re not scoring many goals, but they’re certainly winning. On Sunday, a Myrto Uzuni strike powered them to a 1–0 win over St. Louis, extending their win streak to three games and putting them on 12 points and second place in the Western Conference.

While they quickly stopped pressing after their goal and shut down defensively, it was a strong and encouraging performance overall, including for Osman Bukari, who did well to set up Uzuni for the lone goal.

Inconsistency in attacks isn’t the most sustainable way to continue winning games, but Austin are having a good spell right now, and they’ll hope to continue it next week when they take on the Portland Timbers.

7. FC Cincinnati (Previous: 10)

They left it late, but FC Cincinnati picked up their third win of the season with a 2–1 victory over Nashville SC, powered by Kévin Denkey’s 91st minute penalty kick.

Evander continued to keep up his stellar form with a third goal in two games after a brace last week, and the penalty was Denkey’s third tally in MLS. Yet, the biggest star of the day was goalkeeper Roman Celentano, who made a triple save, a penalty save, and six saves overall.

With Celentano on a heater, combined with Cincinnati’s defensive pressure, they were able to force Nashville into attacking struggles, keeping them to just one goal despite an expected goals mark of 2.44

Cincinnati can go home happy with three road points and look ahead to next week and a clash with the New England Revolution, a club which only scored their first goal of the season on Saturday.

6. LAFC (Previous: 6)

Things aren’t going well for LAFC, but they staged a decent performance in a 3–2 loss to new rivals San Diego FC on the weekend.

Lacking a healthy Jeremy Ebobisse and Olivier Giroud, they started Denis Bouanga as a central striker, and he failed to live up to the task. However, they did get a first goal from Cengiz Under, a bright spot on an otherwise bad day.

They have a tough task against Inter Miami CF in Concacaf Champions Cup midweek and also have a potential play-off against Club América for a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup as well. It’s a rough time for LAFC and it might not get much more manageable.

5. San Diego FC (Previous: 7)

San Diego FC secured their first home win of the season against LAFC on Matchday 6 / Julia Kapros-Imagn Images

Talk about good vibes! San Diego FC picked up their first home win in club history and looked dominant, going up 3–0 on LAFC and holding off their rivals’ comeback efforts despite the Black and Gold making it 3–2 before the second half.

Onni Valakari scored his second goal of the season and showed his ability to exploit space in attack, while Anders Dreyer continued his strong play on the wing. Hiring “Chucky” Lozano also returned from injury for 20 minutes and nearly scored a free-kick in the final moment.

It’s a night to remember for San Diego, bringing them to 10 points through their first six games, a dream start for the Right to Dream club.

4. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Previous: 2)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC struggled to find momentum in the freezing rain against Toronto FC / Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Freezing rain isn’t fun for anyone, and practically every player on Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC looked like they didn’t want to play in the eventual 0–0 draw at BMO Field.

Brian White had a slight chance for the Whitecaps, and Yohei Takaoka made a couple of standout saves in an otherwise forgettable game.

While the ‘Caps stayed atop the Western Conference on 13 points, it was a game where they truly missed injured captain Ryan Gauld, who likely could have opened the otherwise stale match up, and grabbed all three points.

Heading into Concacaf Champions Cup against Pumas midweek, head coach Jesper Sørensen’s side will hope to have Andres Cubas after the DP defensive midfielder had to leave the game due to injury.

3. Minnesota United FC (Previous: 4)

It’s Tani time for Minnesota United FC, and nobody is complaining. After scoring his first international goal with the Canadian men’s national team last weekend, Oluwaseyi returned to the Loons and bagged a brace in their 2–0 win over Real Salt Lake.

DP midfielder Joaquín Pereyra also had one of his better games and played a key role in a near-perfect buildup to Oluwaseyi’s second goal.

Head coach Eric Ramsay’s team didn’t have much to do defensively. Still, it held RSL to a lot of meaningless possession, as the visitors mustered just 1.62 expected goals, despite taking 15 shots and having 65 percent of the possession.

It’s a good time for soccer in Minnesota right now, and they’ll look to extend their five-game undefeated streak when they take on New York City FC on Matchday 7.

2. Philadelphia Union (Previous: 1)

Dániel Gazdag had a late chance after scoring his first, and center back Jakob Glesnes threatened after pushing up as a target man in attack, but it wasn’t enough for the Philadelphia Union as they fell 2–1 to Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium.

Quinn Sullivan continued his exceptional form in an unrelenting effort from Philadelphia and certainly would have raised some eyebrows with his four chances created, two shots and nine passes into the final third.

While two losses in three games isn’t the greatest spell for Bradley Carnell’s new team, they certainly tested Inter Miami and will continue to be a strong team in the Eastern Conference as they look ahead to next week’s clash with Orlando City SC.

1. Inter Miami CF (Previous: 2)

Lionel Messi needed just two minutes to score against the Philadelphia Union / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Lionel Messi scored in just two minutes, and his goal proved to be the winner. Inter Miami CF claimed their fourth win in a row and stayed undefeated through five matches this MLS season.

While Messi still doesn’t seem comfortable as he works through muscle and groin injuries, he’s an immense threat even when he’s not fully fit.

Philadelphia certainly tested Miami more than other opponents this season, but their depth elevated them, while the Argentine legend added the winner in his limited minutes.

The only concerning factors for Miami coming out of the game were the injury to goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, who has been solid in his starts this season, and the frustrations consistently shown by Jordi Alba and other players when officiating decisions don’t fall their way.

Outside of those two factors, though, this team might just be good enough to eclipse the MLS all-time regular season points record, which they set last season at 74.