Seattle Sounders FC are winless (0W-2L-2D) through four matches of the 2024 MLS season and sit bottom of the Western Conference – rare territory for one of the league's most historically dominant sides.
Saturday's 3-2 loss at the previously winless San Jose Earthquakes didn't settle nerves around the Emerald City. And the nature of that loss – mounting a two-goal second-half comeback to tie the match and then conceding the game-winner just one minute later – stung even worse.
A lengthy injury list is one clear culprit for Seattle's woes, but Taylor Twellman points to the absence of one name in particular, holding midfielder João Paulo, as the root cause of the early-season sputter.
