Mexicans Abroad: Lozano returns to scoring & Chicharito lends West Ham a hand as El Tri stars rack up goals

Jon Arnold

Mexicans Abroad: Lozano returns to scoring & Chicharito lends West Ham a hand as El Tri stars rack up goals image

It is the nature of the Dutch league that a team can go unbeaten in 10 games and be in crisis. That's exactly the situation right now for Mexico star Hirving Lozano and PSV.

After a tumultuous pair of weeks on the field for Lozano, this week went much better. In Sunday's contest with Feyenoord, Lozano got his foot on the end of a cross into the box in the 72nd minute and somehow put the effort on target and in.

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It was a critical equalizer for PSV, but the 1-1 draw was the third straight stalemate for the Eredivisie champions. That has allowed Ajax to close the gap at the top to just two points. Erick Gutierrez made the bench but didn't see time.

Another Mexican on the scoresheet this weekend was Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. The 30-year-old notched his 50th Premier League goal and 200th career professional strike when combining club and country.

However, it wasn't without controversy. Replays showed the appendage Chicharito used to get a 29th-minute cross past Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico was his hand. Without VAR in the Premier League, though, the goal stood as the Hammers rolled to a 3-1 win.

Raul Jimenez also was on the mark in the Premier League, scoring from the penalty spot in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. The spot kick took him to 10 goals in league play this season, and he's also had five assists, meaning he's taken part in nearly 43 percent of Wolves' scoring plays this season. 

The goals don't stop there. Hector Herrera put the finishing touches on Porto's 3-0 victory at Tondela. He has four goals on the season but has scored in each of the last three league matches for the Dragons. Jesus "Tecatito" Corona started and played the full match in an attacking position.

And while it continues to go poorly for Antonio Briseno's team in Portugal, the center back headed in a second-half goal that restored a bit of dignity for Feirense in a 3-1 loss to Moreirense. His club remains in last place.

Diego Lainez came on in Europa League action for Real Betis but was unable to replicate his first-leg heroics in a 3-1 loss to Rennes that bounced the La Liga club out of the competition. The 18-year-old got a start in this weekend's league match against Real Valladolid but exited the 2-0 Betis win at the half because of a glute injury. Andres Guardado played in the Europa League match and was set for rest this weekend but came on for the injured Barragan in the first half. 

Elsewhere in Spain, Diego Reyes was an unused substitute for Leganes in a 1-1 draw with Valencia. Real Sociedad plays Monday with Hector Moreno hoping to get his first minutes in some time.

Jon Arnold

Jon Arnold Photo

Jon Arnold covered the Mexico national team and Concacaf region in English for Goal until March 2020. His byline also has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times Goal blog, FloFC and Pacific Standard. In addition to his written work, he serves as the Concacaf expert on the BBC's World Football Phone-In and has appeared on SiriusXMFC in English and Fox Deportes and Milenio in Spanish. Formerly based in Tijuana and currently living in Texas, Jon covered the 2018 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the last five Gold Cups.