The degree to which the Seattle Sounders have struggled without Raúl Ruidíaz in the lineup has probably been a bit overstated. In the five games the Peruvian forward has missed this year, the Sounders have gone 2-1-2, scored seven goals and averaged about 1.60 expected goals. Those aren’t numbers that will win any style contests, but they’d put the Sounders right around the middle of the league.
Of course, being in the middle of the league is not what the Sounders are about.
Good thing then that Ruidíaz wasted little time getting back to the form that made him a Golden Boot contender before being called away for international duty and then contracting Covid-19.