Weekend Recap: 9/14 - 9/15

Aside from the two Mexicans playing for Villarreal CF in Liga BBVA, it was a forgettable weekend for Mexicans abroad:

Liga BBVA

Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino (far left) celebrate with teammates

Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino had a memorable weekend for Villarreal CF, as the heavy underdogs battled to a 2-2 draw against heavyweight Real Madrid.  In a game where much of the attention was paid to the debut of Gareth Bale for Real Madrid, Giovani Dos Santos scored the equalizer at 70', while Aquino played a large part in the Villarreal attack (and was the victim of Real Madrid keeper Diego Lopez' double save early in the game).  It was the first dropped points of the season for Villarreal, although certainly nothing to be ashamed of when playing a world class team like Real Madrid.  And, if Saturday's match was any indication, Aquino and Dos Santos will play a large part in the remainder of Villarreal's season.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Carlos Vela and Real Sociedad were held scoreless in a 0-0 draw versus Levante; Vela was substituted off at 84' after a relatively quiet night.  Hector Moreno was left out of the lineup for RCD Espanyol due to playing 180 minutes for Mexico in the previous week; Espanyol went on to win their match versus Granada, 1-0.  Andres Guardado was left on the bench in Valencia's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Betis.  Jonathan Dos Santos was also an unused substitute in Barcelona's thrilling 3-2 victory over Sevilla.  And Nery Castillo continues to miss time due to a thigh injury and was not in the lineup for Rayo Vallecano as they were demolished 5-0 at the hands of Malaga.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez substituted Robin Van Persie at 79' for Manchester United in their 2-0 victory over recently-promoted Crystal Palace.  He had one shot on target in what were relatively quiet minutes.

Primeira Liga

The two Mexicans playing for Porto FC saw no action last weekend for the Portuguese giants.  Hector Herrera did play 90 minutes for Porto B as they settled for a 0-0 draw with second-division Moreirense.  Diego Reyes is expected to make his debut with the first team in their Wednesday Champions League clash against Austria de Viena.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa had his worst game of the season so far in the French Ligue 1, as the keeper allowed 3 first-half goals against Evian before Ajaccio attempted a furious rally in the last ten minutes to finally settle for a 3-2 loss.

Eredivisie

Jesus "Tecatito" Corona was an unused substitute in Twente's 1-1 draw against PSV.  Corona was only recently signed to the Dutch club, and will hopefully make his debut in the coming weeks.

MLS

Erick Torres played 90 minutes but did not find the back of the net in Chivas USA's 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers.  Torres had been in excellent form, having scored 7 goals in 9 games before Sunday's match.