Power Rankings Roundup: Portland firmly among top five

If you’ve even just skimmed the pieces on our website, then you know that the Portland Timbers are having a fine run of form. They’re unbeaten in their last six matches and have won five in a row. They’ve scored 18 goals over the span of those six matches, twice scoring six goals in one match. There aren’t a lot of teams playing better than the Timbers right now.

That seems to be what other websites think too, as most media outlets have Portland now firmly in their top 10. With that in mind, here’s where a couple of them say the Timbers stand in the latest power rankings.

The latest MLS rankings moved the Timbers up one spot, ranking them fifth among all squads. Portland are just behind the Seattle Sounders, and it’s largely because of their offense.

With five straight wins, Portland are knocking on Cascadia rival Seattle’s door for first place in the Western Conference. The Timbers scored nine goals across two matches last week, with Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Diego Valeri and Jeremy Ebobisse all netting braces. This offense, even without Sebastian Blanco (ACL tear), has a lot of ways to hurt teams.

Fifth isn’t even the highest this team has risen. ESPN had Portland third in their latest rankings, jumping them up two spots from last week. They highlighted the work Diego Chara has put in these past few matches.

Diego Chara’s reputation in MLS isn’t that of an assist man, but twice in the past month — and for the first times in his MLS career — he recorded two helpers in a game. The victim both times? The San Jose Earthquakes. The Timbers have now won five consecutive matches.

Agree or disagree? Let us know below.