Raul Jimenez Wolves

Mexicans Abroad: Jimenez, Chicharito perform well in England

Wolves are roaring again, and Raul Jimenez is playing a big role in the renaissance.

After going from everyone's pick to sneak into Europe to dropping to 13th, Wolves are back on fire with three consecutive Premier League wins. The Mexico striker of the future, Jimenez opened the scoring in Wolves' 2-0 win over Bournemouth. After an errant pass from a throw-in was picked off by Diogo Jota, Wolves surged forward and Jimenez finished off the move at the back post. It's his fifth goal of the season.

This week, reports emerged that Wolves are looking to make the loan from Benfica for Jimenez permanent, something that could cost the club £30 million ($38m).

Article continues below

“I want people to think I am someone they want to have here. But we have to wait and see what decisions they take," Jimenez told reporters after the game. “That decision does not belong to me. I feel good here, I’m fine, but that’s the decision of other people."

While Jimenez is rolling along, that doesn't mean the Mexico striker of the past (and the present?) Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez didn't have a good weekend as well. Chicharito started for West Ham United and helped the Hammers to a fourth consecutive victory this weekend, topping Fulham, 2-0. Chicharito assisted Michail Antonio's goal with a header in the 29th minute before making way in the second half.

Guillermo Ochoa had a stand-out performance in Belgium. Though his Standard Liege was knocked out of the Europa League during the week, it bounced back with a 4-1 victory over Zulte Warege that took it back to 7th place in the Jupiler Pro League.

Villarreal is into the next stage of the Europa League. He didn't play in the team's most recent match in that tournament, but Miguel Layun did come in as a substitute for the Yellow Submarine this weekend. He played in the midfield with Villarreal earning a 2-2 draw with Huesca.

Nestor Araujo and Hector Moreno continue their progression in Spain with both players playing a full 90 minutes at center back this weekend - Araujo for Celta de Vigo in a scoreless draw with Leganes and Moreno in a 1-0 loss to Getafe. Andres Guardado remains out injured.

Carlos Salcedo continued to get minutes after his return from injury, with the 25-year-old playing all of Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen and earning a yellow card in the process. He was one of six Frankfurt players to get his name in the book.

And in Turkey, Diego Reyes was back in the squad for Fenerbahce but played just two minutes of the club's 2-2 draw with BB Erzurumspor. Both clubs remain in the relegation zone.

Advertisement