Two weeks into the MLS season and there is only one team with two victories. The Kansas City Wizards have jumped ahead of the pack early on, but the first two weeks of the MLS season have already shown us that parity throughout the league will keep things close.
Juan Carlos Osorio made his Red Bulls debut a successful one as his squad posted a victory and shutout against Columbus. The Red Bulls looked pretty good for a team that still needs three or four players and is missing starters Jozy Altidore, Dane Richards and Hunter Freeman.
And while it happened way back on Thursday, you can’t forget David Beckham scoring his first MLS goal in the Galaxy’s 2-0 win against San Jose. Beckham and Landon Donovan played well together and the LA defense posted a shutout a week after an embarrassing performance against Colorado.
San Jose made its debut and looked every bit like an expansion team as its offense struggled and defense faltered. The pieces are there for the defense to eventually find its way, but that attack desperately needs more players.
The Earthquakes sit at the bottom of this week’s MLS Power Rankings, with the Galaxy moving up. Here are week two’s MLS Power Rankings:
SBI MLS Power Rankings
1. (Last week- 2) Kansas City Wizards (2-0)
Wizards stay perfect with 3-2 win but defense shows some chinks in the armor. Curt Onalfo has a great dilemma in trying to choose between Ivan Trujillo and Scott Sealy to start next to Claudio Lopez.
2. (5) Chivas USA (1-0-1)
The Goats are still struggling to find the form that made them the best in the West last season, but they’re still the class of the West so far. Newcomers looked good as attack shows some depth.
3. (4) D.C. United (1-1)
Now that is the offense we were expecting, but can D.C. do it against a respectable defense?
4. (8) Chicago Fire (1-0-1)
Tomasz Frankowski looks like the real deal and Barrett is waking up, but how long can defense get by without Wilman Conde?
5. (1) New England Revolution (1-1)
So much for having depth. Now the Revs must play Kansas City without Twellman, Ralston and Larentowicz.
6. (11) New York Red Bulls (1-0)
Defense was stellar (save for Jeff Parke’s red card) and the attack created chances without Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards. Not a bad debut for Juan Carlos Osorio.
7. (9) FC Dallas (0-0-2)
Pescadito who? The offense is really clicking with Cooper, Alvarez and Toja working well. Now, if only that defense could get it together.
8. (3) Houston Dynamo (0-1-1)
There are fewer worse scenarios than having Pat Onstad and Eddie Robinson go down with injuries. Ton Caig made some good saves late, but Houston will struggle if Onstad misses considerable time. The same goes for a Robinson injury.
9. (7) Colorado Rapids (1-1)
Set-piece defending cost the Rapids early but the consolation was that Colorado fought back from two goals down on the road, even if they did surrender the game-winner in the 87th minute.
10. (14) Los Angeles Galaxy (1-1)
The attack showed what it can do when its stars play well, but the shutout doesn’t mean the Galaxy’s defensive issues have been solved. That said, Sean Franklin looked good and should stay in the starting lineup.
11. (6) Columbus Crew (1-1)
Schelotto looked off against the Red Bulls, reminding us that without him the Crew completely lacks creativity. Also, how bad are things when Ezra Hendrickson gets significant minutes as a forward?
12. (10) Real Salt Lake (0-1-1)
Losing to an arch-rival is bad enough, losing on two goals by players you let go is painful. I’ll keep saying it, the RSL defense added plenty of parts but I’m not sure it will come together.
13. (13) Toronto FC (0-2)
Playing a man down at RFK Stadium is never a good thing but TFC was already down 2-0 before Kevin Harmes’ sending off.
14. (12) San Jose Earthquakes (0-1)
We knew the attack was going to be weak, but the defense left something to be desired in the Earthquakes debut.
What did you think of the action in week two? Share your thoughts on last week’s action and on the SBI MLS Power Rankings below.