It was a wild opening weekend around Major League Soccer, which saw both expansion sides fall in their debuts and the reigning league champions lose down in Texas.
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Meanwhile, regular season conference winners from a year ago each started out with victories on the road.
[ MORE: Looking ahead to Week 2 around MLS ]
Without further ado, let’s take a look at PST’s first installment of the 2017 MLS Power Rankings.
| TEAM | RANKING (Last Wk) | |
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| 22 (NR) 21 (NR) 20 (NR) | | Minnesota United: The former NASL boys received their rude welcoming on opening night, and while it wasn’t unexpected, it could surely be a sign of things to come in 2017 as Adrian Heath’s group learns to connect with one another. New England Revolution: On paper the Revolution still boast a very strong attack, but defensively there are many uncertainties for Jay Heap’s squad. Atlanta United: For 75 minutes, Atlanta looked like the better side. Tata Martino has to groom his men for the remaining 15 minutes to avoid another meltdown. |
| | 19 (NR) | | Columbus Crew: After going from an MLS Cup appearance in 2015 to missing the postseason altogether last year, the Crew will be relying a lot more on Ola Kamara up top.
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| | 18 (NR) | | Chicago Fire: Veljko Paunovic certainly strengthened his side this offseason with the likes of Dax McCarty and Nemanja Nikolic, but it’s time for the team to produce consistently after missing the postseason six of the last seven seasons.
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| 17 (NR) | | Montreal Impact: With no more Didier Drogba at the helm, it’s Ignacio Piatti’s attack to orchestrate. |
| | 16 (NR) | | San Jose Earthquakes: Dominic Kinnear and co. got off to a strong start, but can the club sustain its Week 1 success? |
| 15 (NR) | | Philadelphia Union: The Union attack had its moment in Vancouver, but will Jay Simpson be the answer up front?
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| | 14 (NR) | | Real Salt Lake: RSL did well to contain Toronto’s dangerous attack, but there are still some questions up front.
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| 13 (NR) | | Sporting Kansas City: Keeper Tim Melia proved himself with a strong PK save in the opener, but his side’s attack will have to be sharper in the final third. |
| | 12 (NR) | | Houston Dynamo: This club has a long way to go before their will be shouts of playoffs but hey, they did beat the reigning champions.
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| 11 (NR) | | D.C. United: Luciano Acosta’s status over the first few weeks is uncertain but it’s time for Patrick Mullins to put together a full season up front after getting paid this offseason. |
| 10 (NR) | | Los Angeles Galaxy: It’s a new era in LA without Bruce Arena and Robbie Keane. Time will tell as to how the club copes with those losses. At least Zlatan could be months away from making his debut? |
| 9 (NR) | | New York City FC: Patrick Vieira vowed to bring in a younger core this offseason, and he backed it up. Who fills the goalscoring void left by Frank Lampard, though?
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| | 8 (NR) | | Orlando City: It’ll be intriguing to watch how the Lions handle Kaka’s extended layoff due to injury. The good news... Jason Kreis’ backline looks significantly more sound than a season ago.
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| | 7 (NR) | | Vancouver Whitecaps: The Western Conference side couldn’t back up their Champions League progression with an opening weekend victory, but this club has exciting written all over it. |
| 6 (NR) | | Seattle Sounders: Can’t take too much stock in one game because the champions boast a ton of talent. Clint Dempsey’s goal was a great sign for both club and country, though.
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| | 5 (NR) | | Colorado Rapids: Pablo Mastroeni seemed mostly content with his squad during the offseason, and the Rapids backed it up on opening day with stellar defensive play.
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| 4 (NR) | | Toronto FC: A healthy Giovinco and Jozy Altidore presents a nightmare of a challenge for opposing defenses. |
| | 3 (NR) | | New York Red Bulls: After a rocky offseason, the Eastern Conference champions proved their resiliency down at a hostile Bobby Dodd Stadium. |
| | 2 (NR) | | Portland Timbers: Caleb Porter has to pleased with squad, particularly his attack. Although Minnesota was certainly lacking, the Timbers could have the best front six in MLS. |
| 1 (NR) | | FC Dallas: Barring catastrophe, this is a playoff team; again. The only question is: will Dallas take the next step in 2017? |
