A stunning eruption of goals from Carlos Vela highlights a quiet weekend for Mexicans abroad:
Carlos Vela had a massive game for Sociedad
Liga BBVA
Carlos Vela helped his team overcome a 1-3 second-half deficit by scoring 4 goals, including three in the final 30 minutes, as Real Sociedad edged Celta de Vigo 4-3. Vela was on fire the entire match, although his second and third goals appeared to be offside on second viewing. Regardless, this was one of Vela's strongest games since transferring to the Basque side over two years ago. It has been a difficult 2013 so far for Sociedad, but Vela is rounding into form to try to salvage their season. With Mexico's arduous World Cup qualification process now officially successful, will Vela be mentioned for call-ups to Brazil next summer?
Elsewhere
in La Liga, Giovani Dos Santos sat out Villarreal's 3-0 beatdown of Levante, but Javier Aquino was subbed on at 62' after starting on the bench. Villarreal remains in 4th place in La Liga. Dos Santos sustained a thigh injury in league action two weeks ago and was being held out of Sunday's game as a precautionary measure.
Last,
Hector Moreno's Espanyol destroyed Nery Castillo's Rayo Vallecano 4-1. Castillo has been sidelined for the month of November following a muscle tear, while Moreno played his customary 90' for Espanyol. Rumors continue to swirl over Moreno's future at the club, linking him with a possible move to the Premier League or elsewhere.
English Premier League
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez received a rare start for Manchester United as they traveled to Wales to face Cardiff City. While he did provide a gorgeous assist for Wayne Rooney on United's first goal, Hernandez remained quiet for most of the match before being substituted at 73' when the game was still 2-1. Cardiff later tied the game at 90', giving United a disappointing 2-2 draw against the recently-promoted side.
Primeira Liga
Hector Herrera started at CM for Porto as they fought to a 1-1 draw against Nacional in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. He was substituted at 88', while his compatriot Diego Reyes remained an unused substitute. Porto remain at the top of the table with 24 points, 1 point better than Sporting and Benfica.
Ligue 1
Guillermo Ochoa had a tough day as AC Ajaccio fell 3-1 to Olympique Marseille in French League action. Ajaccio is now in relegation territory after going winless in their last 7 Ligue 1 matches.
Eredivisie
Jesus
"Tecatito" Corona was subbed on at 87' in FC Twente's 5-2 win over NAC Breda. Twente now sit in third place in a very tight Eredivisie, where 3 points separate the top 4 teams.
Javier Hernandez puts in a dazzling start in the Capital One Cup and Andres Guardado will miss three weeks after picking up a hamstring tear as we focus on midweek action for Mexicans abroad:
Liga BBVA
Andres Guardado's Valencia allowed 2 second-half goals to fall 1-2 against Almeria, but the bigger story is the torn hamstring that will sideline Guardado for the next three weeks. Guardado started at LB for Valencia before being subbed at 41' after picking up the injury. It has been a difficult year for Guardado, who has lost his once-assured starting spot at LW on El Tri after a run of bad form, and was not even called up for the last Hexagonal qualifiers under then-manager Victor Manuel Vucetich.
Elsewhere in
La Liga, Carlos Vela and Real Sociedad blew a 2-goal lead in the final 15 minutes and nearly lost were it not for the heroics of Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who saved a penalty in stoppage time to preserve a 2-2 tie. Vela assisted on the first goal with a classy through-ball finished by Frenchman Antoine Griezmann at a very tight angle.
Last, Giovani Dos Santos' and Javier Aquino's 4th-place Villarreal squad dropped their Thursday match against 5th-place Getafe 2-0. Villarreal maintains a 1-point lead over Getafe for 4th place. Dos Santos and Aquino both started, but Aquino was substituted at halftime after Villarreal's Pablo
Iñíguez was red-carded at 39'.
Capital One Cup
Chicharito bagged two goals against Norwich City
In England's Capital One Cup, Javier "Chicharito"
Hernandez made the most of his starting opportunity, scoring two goals against Norwich City as Manchester United won 4-0. United dominated the match from the outset, with Hernandez netting first from the penalty spot at 20' after Adnan Januzaj was taken down inside the box, and then again at 54' with a rebounded header after Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn saved his initial header. Hernandez has now scored 3 goals in his last 2 matches for Manchester United. Whether this will translate into more playing time for Chicharito remains to be seen.
A Man-of-the-Match performance from Giovani Dos Santos and the return of Chicharito the Supersub highlight the action of Mexicans in Europe this last weekend:
Liga BBVA
In La Liga, Giovani Dos Santos' & Javier Aquino's Villarreal took on Andres Guardado's Valencia (although Guardado did not play). Aquino was subbed on at 73' when the game was firmly in Villarreal's control. However, Giovani Dos Santos was the main attraction here, as he started and had a monster game for Villarreal CF as they defeated Valencia 4-1. Dos Santos atoned for a missed penalty at 47', when on the ensuing corner kick he managed a ridiculous backheel goal in front of net. Forty minutes later, Dos Santos added another golazo with a 20-yard strike past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. Dos Santos also provided a brilliant cross to Ikechukwu Uche for Villarreal's first goal, and was unlucky to hit the post on a difficult, close-range header midway through the game. This was easily Dos Santos' finest game as a Submarino.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Carlos Vela's Real Sociedad got back in the win column with a solid 3-0 victory over Almeria. Vela did not start, but was subbed on at 81' after playing 90 minutes in the Champions League loss to Manchester United earlier in the week. Also, Nery Castillo started at Forward and played 63 uninspiring minutes in Rayo Vallecano's 0-3 loss to Valladolid. Rayo sits just one spot out of the relegation zone in the La Liga table.
In injury news, Jonathan Dos Santos will miss about 6 months due to a knee ligament tear suffered in practice. This will more than likely end any hope that the younger Dos Santos might have had in representing Mexico in the World Cup in Brazil (if, indeed, Mexico makes the World Cup), and might mark an end to his Barcelona career (a career which never got off the ground, to be honest).
Last, Hector Moreno had a rough week for Espanyol. Starting his third game after missing time with a hamstring injury, Moreno not only had to endure Espanyol's 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Levante, he was also booked with a yellow card at 57' and then left the game with a quadriceps injury at 59', which might cause him to miss this Tuesday's match against Malaga.
English Premier League
Chicharito scored the gamewinner in United's win
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was substituted at 68' into Manchester United's home match against Stoke City and helped to make an immediate impact. United were struggling in attack with a Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie strikeforce, shockingly losing to the lowly Potters 2-1 and looking very sluggish in midfield. So manager David Moyes moved Rooney to midfield and Chicharito to striker and saw an immediate improvement to his squad. Rooney scored with an excellent header to tie the game at 78', and Hernandez scored just 2 minutes later with a nice header past goalie after losing his marker. It was Chicharito's first Premier League goal this season, and second overall for the club after scoring in the Capital One Cup against Liverpool earlier this year.
Primeira Liga
The top two teams in the Portuguese Primeira Liga squared off as Hector Herrera's FC Porto took on Sporting CP at the
Estádio do Dragão in Porto. Herrera received a vote of confidence from Porto manager Paul Fonseca as he was handed the start after his infamous double yellow card during Porto's 0-1 Champions League loss to Zenit St. Peterburg earlier in the week. Herrera played 67' before being subbed off with the score Porto 2-1 Sporting. Porto went on to win the match 3-1.
Elsewhere, Diego Reyes started and played 90 minutes as Porto B suffered a 1-2 defeat against Chaves in the Portuguese second division.
Ligue 1
Guillermo Ochoa had a rough time in front of net as Ajaccio was defeated 2-1 by Guingamp for their third consecutive defeat. Ochoa allowed two goals in the final 5 minutes after keeping a clean sheet for the majority of the match.
Eredivisie
Jesus
"Tecatito" Corona was subbed on at 63' in FC Twente's 2-3 loss versus ADO Den Haag in the Dutch League. Corona played inspired minutes as his team managed to pull the match to a draw after being down 0-2 when he was called on. Twente came back to tie the game before Den Haag scored at 88'.
Back to Liga MX for El Cubo?
MLS
Erick "Cubo" Torres' Chivas USA was completely embarrassed by the Portland Timbers 0-5 in the last (mercifully) game of the season for the squad. Torres ended the match with 3 shots on target but could not get one past the goalie. Cubo's loan spell to Chivas USA now comes to an end, and it remains to be seen if he will end up back at Guadalajara at the start of the Liga MX Clausura.
A Champions League record for Hector Herrera, but not a good one
Hector Herrera's huge gaffe overshadowed Carlos Vela v Javier Hernandez in the third round of Champions' League Group Play:
Hector Herrera received his first Champions League start for Porto as they faced Zenit St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, it all ended horribly for him only 6 minutes into the game after receiving two yellow cards in 20 seconds (a Champions League record). His first yellow was received after a sloppy tackle against Zenit's Hulk. The second, more controversial, yellow card came on the ensuing free kick, where Herrera broke from the wall too early to interfere with the kick. The referee was in no mood to deal with Herrera's transgression, and bypassed a warning for the yellow. Herrera must now sit out the November 6th UCL match as Porto travel to Zenit. Porto fought hard with a ten-man squad and were unlucky to lose the game 1-0. Porto has started group play with 2 straight home losses and are in dire straits. Worst for Mexico fans, will Herrera be trusted with a start in a critical match again this season?
Diego Reyes was not called by Porto for this match.
Chicharito receiving a high kick during Champions League action
Elsewhere, Javier Hernandez received a rare start for Manchester United as they took on Carlos Vela and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. There were no goals scored aside from an own-goal by Sociedad goalie Inigo Martinez in the second minute. Hernandez' movement, coupled with an energetic Shinji Kagawa, helped to make the United side more pacey than they have been in recent weeks. Vela was often dangerous for Sociedad, but the goals never came. The teams meet again in San Sebastian on November 5th.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Dos Santos was not called for Barcelona's 1-1 draw with AC Milan in San Siro.
Hector Moreno's Espanyol shocked the world and the clash of Andres Guardado's Valencia against Carlos Vela's Real Sociedad were the highlights of this last weekend of Mexicans abroad:
Liga BBVA
Hector Moreno helped Espanyol with a huge defensive effort
Hector Moreno's Espanyol were on the winning end of probably the biggest upset of the season so far as they ended Atletico Madrid's perfect start to the season with a 1-0 victory, with the lone goal being scored on an own-goal by Atletico's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Moreno played 90 minutes at CB for 7th-place Espanyol.
Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino both started for Villarreal as they traveled to the San Mamés Barria Stadium to take on Atletico Bilbao. Villarreal never really got moving offensively, and fell behind on a fantastic Mikel Rico header from a gorgeous Andoni Iraola cross from the right wing. A horrendous defensive blunder allowed Aritz Adriz to extend Bilbao's lead to 2-0 two minutes later. After two yellows in ten minutes from Villarreal's Bruno, Villarreal were down to ten men. Aquino was subbed at the start of the second half, with Dos Santos taken off at 65'. Any hopes of a Villarreal comeback were stifled after the red card.
Villarreal next take on Valencia, where Andres Guardado plies his trade at LB. Valencia took on Carlos Vela's Real Sociedad last Saturday, with Sociedad snapping their 7-game winless run in La Liga with a 2-1 victory. Carlos Vela provided an assist on the second goal at 59', and Sociedad controlled the entire game from start to finish, with Valencia tacking on a goal at 90'+3'.
Last, Jonathan Dos Santos was once again left on the bench during Barcelona's surprising 0-0 draw at Osasuna.
English Premier League
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was left on the bench during Manchester United's 1-1 draw versus Southampton. Moyes' conservative, defensive substitutions in the second half while clinging to a 1-0 lead backfired as Southampton tied the game at 89'. Chicharito's playing time has been sparse of late, and with World Cup play around the corner the drumbeat for him to leave Old Trafford only grows louder with each passing week.
Primeira Liga
Diego Reyes started his first game for the FC Porto first team during Porto's 1-0 victory over Liga de Honra (Portugal's second division) basement dwellers Trofense. Porto played a team of substitutes for this Taca de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) match, and can probably be accused of looking ahead to Tuesday's Champions League clash with Zenit St. Petersburg. Hector Herrera did not play in Saturday's game, so he may feature against Zenit.
Ligue 1
Guillermo Ochoa started in front of net for AC Ajaccio in
their 0-1 loss to Nantes. Ochoa played a solid game before US international Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench to score on his familiar foe at 87'.
Eredivisie
Jesus
"Tecatito" Corona did not play in FC Twente's 1-1 draw versus Ajax.
MLS
Erick Torres' Chivas USA did not play this weekend and have the Wednesday game against Real Salt Lake. Chivas USA has been deplorable of late, being outscored 1-11 in their last three matches.
The final two games of the Hexagonal have been a roller coaster of emotions for El Tri fans. From Raul Jimenez's immense bicycle kick to Chicharito's misfired strike in front of an open net to being eliminated from the World Cup with 2 minutes to spare to being saved by our fiercest rival, Mexico does not really know what is going on at the moment.
To add even more confusion to our emotions, Victor Manuel Vucetich was unceremoniously fired from his position of manager after only two games in charge. The next coach will be Club America's Jorge "El Piojo" Herrera, who is the current manager of the strongest side in Liga MX. The general consensus is that Herrera will employ mostly Club America/Leon players for the playoff against New Zealand, using the European contingent very sparingly if at all.
It has been a brutal 2013 for Mexico, and stability is badly needed. We will see what Herrera has to offer a team that has been shaken to its core.
In what has been the most awful year in a long time for the Mexican National Team, a ray of hope came bursting through the darkness in the form of a masterful chilena from Raul Jimenez in the 85th minute of a tied game. The live call is required viewing:
Could this ridiculous goal be the thing which wakes Mexico from its slumber? Will a team that could not catch a break in the first 10 months of 2013 suddenly have fortune smile upon it? Will all the trials and tribulations suffered in the Hexagonal finally be shirked off, and Mexico finally meld together into the team that its supporters know it can be?
There is little time for self-glorification. Mexico must now travel to Costa Rica to secure the final Hexagonal spot. This will require securing a point from a team that has been dangerous in the CONCACAF region, having already tied Mexico in El Azteca and defeated the United States, leaders of the Hexagonal field, earlier in the year. Will a new, confident Mexico emerge from this last game, or will it be back to the same nervous, uneasy play that has been a trademark of El Tri in 2013? Tuesday evening we will find out.
