Power Rankings never cease to spark outrage. But here at Backheeled? We’re not here to cause anger. No, we’re here to dissect the latest performances, trends, tactics, and news for each of MLS’s 30 clubs. Every week during the MLS season, Ben Wright will guide you through the Eastern Conference teams and Joe Lowery will do the same for the West.
Okay, fine. We’re also here to spark some outrage, because we’re ranking all 30 teams, too. Power Rankings are based on each club’s average position across Ben and Joe’s individual rankings. Onwards.
1. Philadelphia Union
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The Philadelphia Union scored one of the best goals of the week in their disappointing 1-1 home draw with Toronto FC on Saturday, a really fun front-to-back passing sequence that ended with Tai Baribo hitting Indiana Vassilev in stride for a one-v-one finish. Just three minutes into the game, it looked like the Union were set for another win at home against a poor Toronto side.
It's Indiana Vassilev, and Philadelphia is off and running four minutes in! 😱
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 9, 2025
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/umhtH282Gg pic.twitter.com/MRSsHYoXkX
Over the next 90 minutes, the Union got out in transition and created a few decent half chances (including a slapstick goal from Baribo that was overturned by VAR), but their finishing was consistently disappointing. The longer they went without adding a second goal, the more Toronto grew into the match, eventually equalizing in stoppage time to steal a point. The whole thing was a missed opportunity to give themselves some breathing room in the Supporters’ Shield race.
