Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez already is surprising with his new club.
Mexico's all-time leading scorer made his first start with Sevilla on Thursday, leading the line for the La Liga leaders against Azerbaijani club Qarabag.
In the 62nd minute with the score still 0-0, Chicharito stepped up and smashed a free kick with his right foot, sending the ball over the wall and into the back of the net before the goalkeeper could get over to make the stop. With the forward known for goals inside the box, the golazo came as a bit of a surprise, but Chicharito was thrilled to open his Sevilla account and help the team to a 3-0 win to open Europa League play.
"We're really happy for the game," he said after the game. "Honestly, it was a golazo - and beyond me scoring it, it was really important at that time of the game when we weren't as crisp. I think Qarabag also was pushing with their fans behind them. If this goal hadn't come it would've been tougher. We were able to get two more goals and get the result we wanted."
He continued: "Like I've said since I got here, I have a lot of hunger, a lot of desire to respond to everything on the field. Hopefully there will be more positive occasions than negative ones. We know we're all going to make mistakes or have bad performances but hopefully they don't happen often and the team can keep growing."
Sevilla is back in action Sunday, when it hosts Real Madrid. Current Sevilla boss Julien Lopetegui's brief stint with Los Blancos is sure to be a talking point ahead of the contest, but so too will the fact that Chicharito is back among the goals.
Mexico next plays Oct. 2 against Trinidad and Tobago in a non-FIFA date friendly. Later in the month, however, El Tri makes its Concacaf Nations League debut with a game against Bermuda. While Mexico manager Tata Martino was expected to use a largely domestic-based side, he left the door open last month to calling in players from abroad who weren't part of the team's Gold Cup-winning campaign. Chicharito missed the summer tournament, asking not to be selected as he witnessed the birth of his child.
