Nashville holds on to top spot in MLS power rankings despite three games without a win

Here's a stat that sums up just how tight things are in MLS down the stretch: Nashville SC remains No. 1 in ESPN's power rankings despite going three games without a win. That's how bunched up the league is right now. This week's rundown of all 30 clubs features some notable movement, a surprise or two, and one certainty: with nine matchdays left, almost nobody's spot is locked in yet.

Nashville holds on at the top, but St. Louis is breathing down its neck

Sam Surridge was Nashville's savior once again. The forward scored in the 4th minute and then showed up again in the 91st to seal a 2-2 draw against Miami in one of the most important matchups of the season's closing stretch. The point does little for morale (two draws and a loss in their last three) but it's enough to keep Nashville on track to break Inter Miami's Supporters' Shield record.

Right behind them, St. Louis City showed no mercy, thrashing Chicago 3-0 behind a dominant first half and a lethal second half on the counterattack, where all three of their Designated Players got on the scoresheet. The gap to Nashville at the top keeps shrinking match by match.

Philadelphia Union just won't lose

If there's one team on fire right now, it's Philadelphia Union. They fell into a three-goal hole on the road against Kansas City and looked finished, but they scored four goals in just nine minutes in the second half to pull off an electric 4-3 win. With that result, they extended their unbeaten league run to 11 games and jumped from 13th to 6th in the rankings.

The other big riser of the week was New England Revolution, who jumped from eighth to fifth thanks to a brace from Peyton Miller, an 18-year-old who had just received his first call-up to the US national team and answered with two goals in a 4-2 rout of Orlando City. Orlando, meanwhile, was without Antoine Griezmann due to a thigh injury, and it showed: without him, the team loses its shape.

At the other end of the table, it's the same names as always. Sporting Kansas City watched a match that seemed well in hand collapse in under ten minutes against Philadelphia, while D.C. United came away empty-handed once again despite playing well, with just six wins all season. CF Montreal sits at the bottom of the rankings in 30th place, though they at least have the consolation of reaching the Canadian Championship final.

In the middle of the table there are some curious stories, like Austin FC, who without making much noise have put together seven straight positive results in league play, or Real Salt Lake, whose season just got even tougher after it was confirmed that Diego Luna will miss the rest of the year with a knee injury.