The 2025 Major League Soccer season continued to add star power on Matchday 29, as Thomas Müller made his debut with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and Son Heung-min made his first start with LAFC.
While both are still seeking their first goals since making the jump to the American top flight, Son got his first assist, and Müller had a strike called back for offside, as every team hit the pitch through the weekend.
With Matchday 29 in the books and more star power settled, here’s how teams stack up in the Sports Illustrated MLS Power Rankings.
MLS Power Rankings Matchday 29: Clubs 30-16
30. D.C. United (Previous: 30)
29. LA Galaxy (Previous: 29)
28. St. Louis CITY SC (Previous: 27)
27. CF Montréal (Previous: 28)
26. Atlanta United (Previous: 26)
25. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 25)
24. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 24)
23. New England Revolution (Previous: 21)
22. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 22)
21. New York Red Bulls (Previous: 23)
20. FC Dallas (Previous: 20)
19. Portland Timbers (Previous: 18)
18. Toronto FC (Previous: 19)
17. Austin FC (Previous: 16)
16. Colorado Rapids (Previous: 17)
15. San Jose Earthquakes (Previous: 14)
The San Jose Earthquakes put together one of their strongest performances of the season, but fell 2–1 against San Diego FC in the first matchup between new California rivals.
While San Jose opened the scoring and looked in control for parts of the game after beating Vancouver last week, their control evaporated in the final moments as the visitors charged forward in the final 10 minutes.
Once again, it was a match where San Jose showed promise in attack through Josef Martínez and Chicho Arango, but struggled to maintain control for extended periods, this time surrendering all three points.
As much as the Earthquakes have improved in head coach Bruce Arena’s first season, they slipped to ninth in the Western Conference and are in the thick of a playoff race.
14. Chicago Fire FC (Previous: 15)
Take it yourself, Philip Zinckernagel 🔥
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 17, 2025
2-2 in the Windy City. pic.twitter.com/CtjNXR4C8A
Philip Zinckernagel and Hugo Cuypers continued to show why they are among the best attacking duos in MLS with a standout performance in a 3–2 Chicago Fire FC win against St. Louis CITY.
While they fell behind 2–1 at the hour mark after Cuypers opened the scoring, Zinckernagel did well to lead the comeback, drawing his side level within 10 minutes before helping to set up Brian Gutiérrez for the 87th-minute winning strike.
Although head coach Gregg Berhalter’s side should have some concern with the two goals allowed to a poor St. Louis side, they kept themselves in MLS Cup Playoff contention and rose to ninth in the Eastern Conference with the win.
13. Seattle Sounders FC (Previous: 12)
Seattle Sounders FC will hope to bounce back quickly from this weekend after becoming the latest victim of Minnesota United’s low-possession, counter-pressing prowess.
Yet, even though things didn’t go well for the Sounders, they continued to get strong play from Jesus Ferreira and Christian Roldan among the starters. They didn’t get the desired impact from Pedro de la Vega and Danny Musovski off the bench.
There won’t be many reasons to worry for Seattle, though. It was a solid showing; they’re still fourth in the Western Conference, and plenty of other teams have fallen victim to this edition of Minnesota United.
Now, it’s important that they sort things out for the next three games, where they will be favored to beat Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy.
12. New York City FC (Previous: 13)
New York City FC had to sit through a challenging weather delay, but managed it well and picked up a 2–1 win against Nashville SC at Yankee Stadium.
Andrés Perea had an outstanding performance shifting to a wider position on the left side. He scored and created two chances, in addition to Alonso Martínez’s 77th-minute winning marker.
The Pigeons have now won four of their last six MLS games and rose to eighth in the Eastern Conference with the win, and could go even higher considering the games in hand they have on other teams in the playoff hunt.
11. Columbus Crew SC (Previous: 11)
Columbus Crew SC finally welcomed marquee striker signing Wessam Abou Ali to the club this week after a lengthy visa process for the Palestine international.
Columbus struggled to break down a poor Toronto FC side and were picked apart by Đorđe Mihailović’s passing in the second half. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Aliyu, Daniel Gazdag and others continued to struggle in transition for head coach Wilfried Nancy’s side, as they failed to win for the fourth time in six games.
When they did get in behind Toronto, they struggled to finish as well, putting just seven of 12 shots on target and converting on just one of their three significant chances.
The Crew have the blueprint and history of success, and don’t have to deal with any more Leagues Cup matches. The hope is the integration of Abou Ali can help them reach levels they hit earlier in the season.
10. Nashville SC (Previous: 9)
.@NashvilleSC in full flow. 😍
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 17, 2025
Jacob Shaffelburg finishes a slick team move for the opener in the Bronx!
📺 #MLSSeasonPass or Apple TV+: https://t.co/bv1YcepUad pic.twitter.com/N08xvIvkul
Nashville SC started strong New York City with a methodical team goal finished by Jacob Shaffelburg, putting them ahead in the 10th minute. However, they struggled after a lengthy weather delay, eventually allowing two goals and falling 2–1.
Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar have been outstanding for most of the season, but both were quiet against NYCFC as Nashville dropped their third game in a row and fourth of their last six.
At one point, not too long ago, head coach B.J. Callaghan’s Nashville side looked like an MLS Cup contender, but now they’ve slipped to third in the Eastern Conference and have momentum pointing the wrong way.
9. LAFC (Previous: 10)
Two matches in, and the Son Heung-min era looks pretty good.
The South Korean superstar picked up his first MLS assist in a 2–0 win over the New England Revolution this weekend, setting up fellow summer signing Mathieu Choiniére for the insurance goal in a standout 90 minutes.
While queries remain around Son’s best position for LAFC, he did not look out of place as a central attacker against the Revolution. He helped create both goals in a performance that saw him orchestrate several chances.
Outside of Son, LAFC continue to see elevated moments from Denis Bouanga and Mark Delgado, two of the team’s key players this season. They now sit fifth in the Western Conference ahead of the final game of their road trip vs. FC Dallas next weekend.
“I’m enjoying every single day and every single second, especially when you win the game away from home,” the former Tottenham Hotspur captain said after the game. “It tastes even better, and I’m enjoying every single moment. We have a lot of games ahead, so I have to prepare well and enjoy even more.”
8. Charlotte FC (Previous: 8)
Charlotte FC have been a ton of fun, and they’re winning like no other team in MLS.
On Saturday, they secured a 1–0 win against Real Salt Lake, with striker Idan Toklomati continuing his form with his seventh goal of the season, as he fills the void left by Patrick Agyemang’s departure.
While the performance didn’t see them attack in the same waves and unrelenting fashion as they have in recent weeks, it was another solid performance from Wilfried Zaha. Not to mention an outstanding seven-save showing from Kristijan Kahlina between the sticks.
It’s a six-game win streak now for Charlotte keeping three straight clean sheets. They look increasingly like a legitimate MLS Cup contender.
Looking ahead at their next few games, there’s no reason they couldn’t extend this win streak with upcoming clashes against the New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution and defensively fragile Inter Miami.
7. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Previous: 6)
Offside in the build-up...
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 18, 2025
But Thomas Müller nearly had his first goal within SECONDS. 😳 pic.twitter.com/wzDihNdCIg
If only the strike had counted.
The Thomas Müller era officially began for the Vancouver Whitecaps this week, as the 35-year-old German played 30 minutes in his debut in a 1–1 draw against the Houston Dynamo.
Even though his first shot as a Whitecap ended up in the back of the net, it didn’t count due to an offside call in the build-up. Despite his standout showing, the Whitecaps weren’t able to hold onto the 1–0 lead and dropped two critical points in second-half stoppage time.
The draw pushed them down to third in the Western Conference and six points back of San Diego FC for the top spot. It also continued their rather cold spell as they have won just four of their last 11 MLS games since losing the Concacaf Champions Cup final..
They’ll try to turn things around next week against St. Louis CITY SC.
6. Minnesota United (Previous: 7)
Minnesota United were back to their blueprint ways this weekend in a 1–0 win against the Seattle Sounders, holding just 30 percent of the possession and coming away with all three points.
However, it wasn’t in the usual fashion by making the most of counter-attacks. Instead, Joaquín Pereyra got the deciding goal, while goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made four saves to maintain the clean sheet against an in-form Sounders team.
While the counterattacking and low-possession style has been the key to Minnesota’s regular-season success, there have been doubts about how fruitful it may be in the MLS Cup Playoffs. With a win against the Sounders, they proved it could be useful against the league’s best.
Although head coach Eric Ramsay may have some worrying moments to adjust to, as Tani Oluwaseyi, one of the key players in the system, has been linked with a move to La Liga’s CF Villarreal before the summer transfer window comes to a close.
Nevertheless, the win kept them in the Supporters’ Shield race and a contender alongside San Diego FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps for the top seed Western Conference seed.
5. Inter Miami (Previous: 5)
Inter Miami returned to their winning ways with a 3–1 win against the LA Galaxy, rebounding well after the 4–1 loss to their Florida rivals.
While Lionel Messi returned from injury as a substitute and scored a goal and an assist, the match continued to show the team’s reliance on their superstar, who may have re-aggravated his injury in the final moments.
The win put Miami into second in the Supporters’ Shield standings on points-per-game and was a vital confidence booster ahead of the Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Tigres. Yet, with Messi’s potential further injury and tensions between head coach Javier Mascherano and key players, there may be worries for Miami in the final stretch of the season.
After Wednesday’s Leagues Cup match, they return to MLS play against D.C. United next Saturday.
4. Philadelphia Union (Previous: 2)
Is it time to worry about the Philadelphia Union? After beating the New York Red Bulls 3–2 in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, the Union struggled against the same opponent on Saturday, falling 1–0 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The loss saw them surrender the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and also brought them to just one win in their last four MLS contests. Meanwhile, being shut out marked the latest chapter in their attacking struggles, which has seen them score at least twice in just four of their last 10 matches.
Tai Baribo has struggled to find the same levels he hit earlier in the season, and Mikael Uhre has always been an inconsistent attacking talent. Now, head coach Bradley Carnell’s side is focusing on Milan Iloski, who has yet to look as threatening as he did with San Diego FC earlier in the season.
Outside of the goalscoring woes on the weekend, there were some bright spots. The backline continued to look relatively strong despite the loss.
Regardless, the Union are in poor form and will look to rebound in next week’s matchup against Chicago Fire FC.
3. Orlando City SC (Previous: 4)
The good times kept rolling for Orlando City SC this weekend, with a dominant 3–1 win over Sporting Kansas City to extend their win streak to four games.
Tyrese Spicer opened the scoring in the first two minutes with his first contribution since being acquired from Toronto FC, and the match saw standout performances from Ramiro Enrique and Martín Ojeda.
Ojeda, in particular, has continued to prove himself as one of the most essential pieces in MLS, often dropping back from his strike partnership with Luis Muriel to aid in the Lions’ build-up. In his last 10 matches in all competitions, he has eight goals and six assists.
Orlando City are as strong as ever this season under head coach Óscar Pareja, and will hope the qualities of Ojeda, Muriel, Enrique, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pašalić and others can help them capture the Leagues Cup and make an MLS Cup run.
The Purple and Gold are back on the pitch vs. Toluca in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
2. FC Cincinnati (Previous: 3)
Evander wanted to prove himself right, and he did just that.
After leaving the Portland Timbers in rather controversial fashion, Evander returned to Providence Park for the first time as an FC Cincinnati player and picked up a goal and assist in the 3–2 win.
Outside of Evander, Cincinnati also reintroduced Kévin Denkey to the starting lineup scoring his 13th of the season. Meanwhile, Pavel Bucha put in a standout performance alongside Evander in midfield.
While head coach Pat Noonan would have wanted his side not to allow two goals to former Cincinnati player, Kevin Kelsy, the win lifted the club to the top of the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.
Next up is New York City FC.
1. San Diego FC (Previous: 1)
San Diego FC extended their lead atop the Western Conference with a 2–1 win over their California rival, San Jose Earthquakes, on Sunday, even though they didn’t play their best game.
Trailing late after Josef Martínez scored, San Diego came back in the final 10 minutes with goals from Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer to seal all three points and move five points clear atop the conference.
It’s a continued dream debut season for the club. For Dreyer as well, who brought his season tally to 13 goals and 15 assists, ranking second, only behind Lionel Messi, for total goal contributions in MLS.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLS Power Rankings: Orlando City Rise and Nashville SC Fall After Matchday 29.