Ever since SB Nation starting do our MLS Power Rankings during the preseason, there has been on constant: Real Salt Lake was on top. In recent weeks, there have been loud grumblings about various editors taking them out of their top tier and last week, we saw that support beging to crumble. After losing a MLS match at home for the first time in two years, they finally fell from our top spot.
SB Nation MLS Power Rankings, Week 11: LA Galaxy Dethrone Real Salt Lake
After 10 weeks in the top spot, RSL’s first loss at home in over two years was enough to allow someone else to move ahead.
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In their place, the Los Angeles Galaxy now sit atop our power rankings. They have been the hottest team over the past five matches, claiming 13 points that includes four straight victories.
Otherwise, it was a pretty stable week. No teams changed tiers and there was only some minor jockeying within them. In honor of the Memorial Day weekend, I’ve also chosen to give my fellow editors the week off and will be handling the tier explanations myself.
| Playing For The Shield | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Los Angeles Galaxy |  100% (66 out of 66 points) |
 | Real Salt Lake | 92% (61 out of 66 points) |
 | New York Red Bulls | 89% (59 out of 66 points) |
Whether or not most of us believe RSL will ultimately compete for the Supporters’ Shield, the fact is they aren’t winning right now. Their last dominant performance came back on March 26, and yes it was against the same Galaxy team that just leapfrogged them in our power rankings. But the Galaxy are playing undeniably better right now and our rankings seem to accurately portray that.
| Enjoy The Playoffs | ||
|---|---|---|
 | FC Dallas | 78% (52 out of 66 points) |
 | Philadelphia Union | 74% (49 out of 66 points) |
 | Seattle Sounders | 65% (43 out of 66 points) |
 | Colorado Rapids | 63% (42 out of 66 points) |
 | Portland Timbers | 57% (38 out of 66 points) |
 | Houston Dynamo | 50% (33 out of 66 points) |
Despite beating the team most of our voters believed was the best in the league as recently as last week, the Seattle Sounders didn't get much of a bump. They still only appear in the top tier on one ballot and are actually being called a third-tier team by two voters. Conversely, the Portland Timbers weren't punished particularly hard for having their home win streak snapped by a pretty average DC United side. Ah, the power groups...
| Still Something To Prove | ||
|---|---|---|
 | DC United | 39% (26 out of 66 points) |
 | Columbus Crew | 31% (21 out of 66 points) |
 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30% (20 out of 66 points) |
 | Chivas USA | 30% (20 out of 66 points) |
 | New England Revolution | 21% (14 out of 66 points) |
DC United got a decent bump after becoming the first MLS team to ever win a league match at Jeld-Wen Field, but it wasn’t enough to boost them into Tier 2 . The Columbus Crew continue their slide down our charts after a rather lackluster defensive effort in their 3-3 tie with Chivas USA at home.
| At Least There's No Relegation | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Chicago Fire | 7% (5 out of 66 points) |
 | Toronto FC | 3% (2 out of 66 points) |
 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 3% (2 out of 66 points) |
 | Sporting Kansas City | 1% (1 out of 66 points) |
Two of these four teams were bad enough that their coaches were fired this week. The other two have rather extenuating circumstances as Aron Winter is in the first year of what has openly been called a longterm rebuilding project and Peter Vermes’ Sporting Kansas City has yet to play a home game.
How It Works: Each of the 22 participants puts Major League Soccer’s clubs into one of the four tiers. Teams in the top tier get three points. Next tier, two points, then one, then zero. Voters can put as many teams into each tier as they see fit. Though the vote total orders the teams, the clubs are intended to be grouped, not sorted. Although some of the names may indicate otherwise, the point of this is to assess current form and our voters are instructed to place teams in tiers based how those teams will fair in coming weeks.
Who participated: Jeremiah Oshan (SB Nation, soccer); Kevin McCauley (SB Nation, soccer); Aaron Campeau (SB Nation, soccer); Ryan Rosenblatt (SB Nation, soccer); Drew Epperley (SB Nation, soccer); Phillip Quinn (SB Nation, soccer); Steve Davis (Daily Soccer Fix); Martin Shatzer (Black and Red United); Scott Kessler (Brotherly Game); Chris “UZ” White (Burgundy Wave); Zach Woosley (Dynamo Theory); Denzel Eslinger (RSL Soapbox); Robert Jonas (Quake, Rattle and Goal); Daniel Robertson (Big D Soccer); Dave Clark (Sounder at Heart); Andy Edwards (The Daily Wiz); Geoff Gibson (Stumptown Footy), Duncan Fletcher (Waking the Red), Steve Stoehr (The Bent Musket); Tweed Thornton (Hot Time in Old Town), Ben Schneider (Once a Metro); Jeff King (The Goat Parade).
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