The Mane Land MLS Power Rankings: Week 8

Can the Red Bulls catch cross-town rivals NYCFC?

Road teams ruled in Week 7, as home sides won just five matches out of the 12 on offer during the week. Once again, there were goals galore as New York City FC and FC Dallas remained the final two unbeaten teams. Orlando City continued on its hot streak, with the Lions winning their third straight as the attackers start to get healthy (although now the defenders are starting to drop). Things are also picking up in the Pacific Northwest as the Portland Timbersand Seattle Sounders reached major milestones.

Check out where all the teams stand going into Week 8:

1. New York City FC (Last Week: 1)

Just days after smashing Real Salt Lake, NYCFC traveled to Atlanta in a showdown of two of the top offenses in Major League Soccer. The competition lived up to the hype in a back-and-forth 2-2 draw. The Citizens remain the top team in the league after snatching a point on the road and remaining unbeaten.

2. New York Red Bulls (Last Week: 5)

The Red Bulls are finally finished with continental duties and can focus on the league and that’s bad news for their opponents. New York dominated Montreal at home, showing off all of its attacking prowess and that was with Kaku off the bench.

3. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 3)

SKC had some trouble with the floundering Sounders at home, needing a penalty and some magic from Graham Zusi to come out with a result. While Sporting remains atop the Western Conference, needing to scrap for points at home isn’t ideal.

4. Toronto FC (Last Week: 2)

There’s little question that TFC is still one of the top teams in MLS, but the reigning champs entered the week on the brink of making history in the Concacaf Champions League and rightly resting players for the bigger competition. But that also means digging an early hole in the league and losing 2-0 to Colorado.

5. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 4)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the third goal of his short MLS career as the Galaxy notched a road victory over the reeling Chicago Fire. LA has maneuvered its way into a tie for second in the West in the young season.

6. Atlanta United (Last Week: 7)

Atlanta did everything it could to close the gap on New York City at the top of the Eastern Conference table, but an Alexander Ring rocket meant splitting the points on Sunday. At home against a team on a short week, United didn’t quite prove they’re at the same level as NYCFC just yet.

7. Los Angeles FC (Last Week: 10)

Another week, another Carlos Vela curling stunner toward the far post. LAFC bounced back from two tough defeats to blank the Vancouver Whitecaps in a dominating performance on the road. If the expansion side can find this form consistently, watch out.

8. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 6)

Columbus was a man up for 40 minutes but couldn’t best Steve Clark in Annapolis. The Crew surrendered a goal less than one minute into the match and couldn’t break down D.C. Unitedafter that. Of their 24 shots, only five forced Clark into action as the home side held on.

9. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 9)

The Dynamo looked destined to suffer yet another road defeat in San Jose, but Houston battled back in the second half and looked like the dominant side it normally is at home. Alberth Eliscontinues to make life miserable for MLS defenders and nearly created four goals for Houston by himself. But in the end, the Dynamo succumbed to a deflection from Jahmir Hyka in the final five minutes to draw.

10. Orlando City (Last Week: 14)

Dwyer has four goals in three matches.

 Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions stretched their winning streak to three matches with a solid 2-0 victory in Philadelphia. Dom Dwyer continued his scoring ways with his fourth goal in just three matches while the defense finally got a much-needed clean sheet.

11. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 8)

The Caps will be without Kei Kamara for a few weeks due to injury and the hole that the Sierra Leonean striker has left is noticeable. Vancouver have stumbled from top of the West to third, thanks to lackluster offense, losing two in a row.

12. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 12)

Chris Wondolowski was moved to the bench for the first time in three years but the Earthquakes still couldn’t hold on to an early lead. Magnus Eriksson’s early strike was negated by two quick second half goals from Houston and the Quakes had to claw back to earn a point in the final five minutes.

13. FC Dallas (Last Week: 16)

Jacori Hayes scored his first pro goal to propel FCD to a win.

 Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

FC Dallas did just enough to earn a road win in New England over the weekend as youngster Jacori Hayes found the back of the net with just 15 minutes to play. While Dallas hasn’t quite found the gear it had in 2016, there’s plenty to like about the club’s start to the year.

14. New England Revolution (Last Week: 11)

The Revs have long been stalwarts in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium, but they stumbled over the weekend. New England had plenty of chances, but the Revolution struggled to test Jimmy Maurer. Dallas made the most of its chances and handed the Revs a loss.

15. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 17)

The Sounders found their first two goals of 2018 and earned their first point of the year in Kansas City. But Seattle will be disappointed as Graham Zusi was allowed to charge down the right wing to find the equalizer late on to split the points.

16. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 13)

RSL was smashed on the road on Wednesday by NYCFC, conceding four goals inside 70 minutes — including three in the first half. Few teams will walk into Yankee Stadium and earn a result, but Mike Petke will have wanted to see more of a fight out of his side.

17. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 20)

The Timbers notched their first win of the year in a wild one in Providence Park. Alvas Powell put on a show, scoring a screamer to get things started. Diego Valeri stayed hot and Fanendo Adi got his first of the year as Portland’s offense continued to perform. But the Timbers’ defense still has plenty of questions to answer, nearly surrendering another late comeback.

18. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 15)

The Blue-blanc-noir have some work to do if Remi Garde wants to finish the year above the red line. The Quebecois side was thoroughly handled by NYRB and has allowed seven goals in the last two matches. Montreal is missing Laurent Ciman and Blerim Dzemaili something fierce.

19. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 21)

The Rapids got the job done against a weakened TFC side, keeping Clint Irwin busy all afternoon. While there may be an asterisk over this victory due to the players the Reds fielded, it’s still three points on the table for Colorado.

20. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 19)

For all of the talent in the Union’s attack, three goals through five matches isn’t going to cut it. The inability to finish off chances sunk Philly at home to Orlando even though the home side controlled possession and took plenty of shots. Combine that with a young back line making plenty of mistakes and it could be a long year for Philadelphia.

21. D.C. United (Last Week: 23)

It wasn’t pretty, but United’s defense held on for nearly the entire match to take three points in Maryland. Steve Clark was phenomenal on the evening as the Black and Red dealt with an onslaught from Columbus, but it secured D.C. its first win of the year.

22. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 18)

The score line was close, but it was a flattering one for the Fire. Video review wiped away an early own goal and Ola Kamara was just barely offside minutes later as the Galaxy poured on the early offense. Chicago fought back late, but it wasn’t enough and the Fire now sit second to last in the East

23. Minnesota United (Last Week: 22)

Darwin Quintero made a great debut as Minnesota’s first Designated Player, but the Loons fell behind early and couldn’t claw their way back. After a hot start to 2018, United has lost three straight.