MLS Team of the Week: Morris, Manotas, Shelton Stand out in Attack-Heavy Week 29

Week 29 in Major League Soccer belonged to strikers and attack-minded midfielders beginning at Yankee Stadium on Friday night and ending in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday.  Seven different players found the back of the net more than once over the last three days, and a pair of players dished out three assists, one of which was a defender.  Since we couldn't fit all of those massive individual performances into a single Team of the Week, we selected three forwards whose showings on the pitch meant the most to their respective sides.  As tempting as it was to name only forwards to the Bleacher Report best XI from the weekend, we aligned our squad in a 4-3-3 since there were some strong defensive performances as well.  Continue reading to see who was named to the Week 29 Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week. Begin Slideshow

Making Sense of the Mangled MLS Eastern Conference Playoff Race

If the last weekend of play in Major League Soccer taught us anything, it's that we don't know a thing when it comes to predicting the playoff races, especially in the Eastern Conference.  Only two of the 10 teams in the East took three points out of Week 28, and both of those results were road wins by the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew.  Philadelphia lost on the road, D.C. United needed a late equalizer to tie the Chicago Fire, New York City FC played to level terms with FC Dallas, and Toronto FC came from behind to draw the New York Red Bulls at home.  With a month left in the regular season, basically anything can happen in the East. Toronto are still the clear favorites to capture the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason, but one more slip-up by Greg Vanney's men could open the door for either of the New York sides to slide into the top position.  Philadelphia and Montreal seemed to be locks to qualify for the postseason a few weeks ago, and in all honesty, they should still make it, but a late surge by New England has put the fourth- and fifth-place clubs ...

MLS Player Rankings: BWP Reclaims Top Spot, Altidore Moves Close to Top

Given the plethora of impressive in-form attackers in Major League Soccer at the moment, it takes something special each week to remain atop the Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings. A week after losing out to Giovani dos Santos for the No. 1 position, Bradley Wright-Phillips is back on top thanks to another brace for the New York Red Bulls. Although Wright-Phillips is the top-scoring forward at the moment, there are a number of players lining up behind him, including Jozy Altidore, ready to pounce if he slips up at any point during the closing stretch of the regular season. Our player rankings take into account the last four performances from each player, with the most recent showing carrying more weight. Continue reading to see who fell where behind Wright-Phillips in the Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings after Week 28.Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Altidore, BWP, Rowe Stand Out with Week 28 Braces

It's becoming a weekly routine at this point in the Major League Soccer regular season to put Jozy Altidore and Bradley Wright-Phillips in our Bleacher Report Team of the Week.  The pair of scorching-hot forwards once again marveled in front of goal in Week 28 as their teams played to a 3-3 draw at BMO Field.  The six-goal affair in Toronto capped off an unusual weekend in MLS that saw only two home teams capture three points. In a league where winning on the road is one of the most difficult tasks, three teams picked up victories on their travels.  Altidore and Wright-Phillips weren't the only players to score twice in Week 28 as Kelyn Rowe and Ola Kamara did so for their respective sides as well.  We aligned our latest MLS Team of the Week in a 3-4-3 due to the large amount of goals that flew into nets across North America over the last three days.  Continue reading to see who else was named to our best XI from Week 28. Begin Slideshow

Chicago Fire Building Foundation for 2017 While Making Late Playoff Chase

No team is ever officially out of the Major League Soccer playoff race.  All you have to do is look at the Chicago Fire for the latest example of the parity that makes the league unique.  The Fire were stranded in the basement of the Eastern Conference for the majority of the regular season until they struck for a nice run of form in August and the start of September.  Veljko Paunovic's side took eight points from five matches, including a pair of 3-0 victories over Montreal Impact and Philadelphia Union, both of whom are expected to qualify for the postseason. The lone loss during that span came at the hands of D.C. United on August 27 at RFK Stadium. The 6-2 defeat looks bad on paper, but if you dig deeper, Chicago put together a decent performance before Khaly Thiam was sent off.  Instead of falling back to the bottom of the East after the blowout loss, the Fire responded with a home win over the Union. The ability to bounce back impressed Paunovic, especially with some winnable matches ahead on the schedule.  "I think it was very important for us to come back, especially winning 3-0," Paunovic said. "It’s important after the loss. We ...

MLS Player Rankings: Dos Santos, BWP in Tight Showdown for Top Spot

The competition for the No. 1 position in the MLS Player Rankings is the fiercest it's been all season.  Bradley Wright-Phillips and Giovani dos Santos are both in stellar form for their respective sides as the postseason inches closer. Wright-Phillips is on track to win his second Golden Boot award in three years, while Dos Santos is stealing the majority of the headlines for the LA Galaxy, even with Landon Donovan back in the squad.  Our player rankings take into account the last four performances from each player selected, with the most recent showing counting more. Continue reading to see which superstar snagged the top spot in the Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings after Week 27. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Dos Santos, Dwyer, Howard Star in Week 27

All the talk entering the weekend of action in Major League Soccer surrounded the return of Landon Donovan.  Although the Los Angeles Galaxy man's entrance as a substitute on Sunday was a major headline, it was far from the most important thing to occur in Week 27.  The Western Conference playoff race experienced quite the shakeup on Saturday as Colorado handed FC Dallas their first home loss of the season. The Galaxy took advantage of that result with a win over Orlando City on Sunday.  Over in the Eastern Conference, Toronto FC continued to distance themselves from the pack as a few results didn't go the way of home teams in the division where no one wants to lock up a playoff position.  Since there were a bevy of impressive performances at the forward position, we shaped our Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week in a 4-3-3. Continue reading to see who was named to the best XI from Week 27.Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Chicago Fire Trio Impress in Shortened Week 26

Major League Soccer presented us with a limited slate of five matches on Saturday during the international break.  FC Dallas were the biggest winners in the Western Conference as they moved eight points ahead of Real Salt Lake at the top of the West and in the Supporters' Shield race.  Over in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Fire made a major leap in the direction of the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union. The Fire, who found themselves at the bottom of the East for most of the season, are all of a sudden six points back of sixth-place D.C. United.  The New York Red Bulls also picked up a key victory as they were the only road team to earn three points during Week 26.  We shaped our latest Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week in a 3-4-3 formation to suit the number of impressive performances in attack. Continue reading to see who was named to our best XI from Week 26. Begin Slideshow

MLS Player Rankings: BWP Remains on Top; Finlay, Mullins Surge Up List

In a league full of in-form strikers, Bradley Wright-Phillips has been able to fend off all challengers to his top spot in the Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings.  The New York Red Bulls forward has been on a tear in front of goal since the end of July, and he's showing few weaknesses as the stretch run of the regular season begins.  Not only are players on potential playoff teams heating up, but a few on the other side of the red line are making noise as well, including Ethan Finlay of the Columbus Crew. Since there were quite a few midweek games in Week 25, some players have a smaller sample size in terms of date range for our latest list, as we take into account the last four performances from each player.  Continue reading to see who fell into place behind Wright-Phillips in the latest Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Mullins, Nyarko Shine in D.C.’s Blowout Win in Week 25

The latest twists and turns of the always unexpected Major League Soccer regular season were created by some unlikely characters in Week 25.  D.C. United made a statement, or as much as a team can make against the lowly Chicago Fire, with a four-goal rout at RFK Stadium to keep them above the red line in the Eastern Conference.  One week after losing to rival Seattle, the Portland Timbers used a four-goal outburst in the first half to bring a little bit of sanity to the ever-changing cast of teams near the red line in the Western Conference.  Week 25 also proved just how hard it is to win on the road in MLS. Toronto and Philadelphia earned wins on their travels on Wednesday, while only Montreal and FC Dallas earned three points on the road during Saturday's action. Since there were a handful of midweek matches, we took those performances into account along with the weekend ones for the latest Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week.  Due to the bevy of strong attacking showings over the last seven days, we shaped our latest best XI in a 3-5-2 formation. Continue reading to see who was named to the Bleacher Report MLS Team of the ...