Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s time in MLS hit a new low on Sunday night as Mexico’s all time leading scorer was benched in favor of Colombian journeyman Yony González.
To make matters worse, Chicharito finally appeared in the 50th minute but failed to make an impact, taking his scoreless streak to 422 minutes which dates back to the only goal he’s scored in his MLS career.
A strange weekend in LaLiga that included defeats for both Real Madrid (1-0 to Cádiz) and Barcelona (1-0 to Getafe) ended with Real Sociedad at the top of the table following a 3-0 win over Real Betis at the Benito Villamarín on Sunday.
Sociedad showed promise last season by advancing to the Copa del Rey final and finishing sixth in the league (the club’s highest standing in seven years), but the return of Martin Ødegaard to Real Madrid and transfer of Diego Llorente to Leeds United seemed like big losses — even with David Silva arriving from Manchester City on a free transfer.
Napoli hosting Atalanta was always going to produce plenty of goals, with two of Italy’s most electric offenses meeting at the San Paolo Stadium on Saturday. We just didn’t think they’d all be from one club in the first half, including two Chucky Lozano goals vs Atalanta.
After a dreadful start to their season, the Los Angeles Galaxy will make a change at head coach, according to multiple reports in Ireland.
Former Galaxy standout and Ireland international Robbie Keane will replace Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Galaxy did not refute the reports outright, instead characterizing them as a "rumor."
The Galaxy are in the midst of a six-game losing streak, the most recent coming in a 4-0 thrashing at home by the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday. They are also winless in their last seven games.
Mexico salvaged a 2-2 draw against 10-man Algeria on Tuesday with Jesús Corona’s beautiful opener pegged back by goals from Ismaël Bennacer and Riyad Mahrez before Diego Lainez provided one final flourish to the script in The Hague.
Eduardo “Chofis” López is reportedly looking for a way out of Guadalajara after seven years with the senior side. The 26-year-old has only appeared in seven of Chivas’ 13 Torneo Guardianes matches so far, and he’s had to make due as a substitute in each — totaling just 122 minutes to go with zero goals and zero assists.
Mexico has gone into the empty belly of the beast and defeated the Netherlands 1-0 at Johan Cruijff ArenA. The game’s only goal — a penalty converted by Raúl Jiménez — was fortunate in that Jiménez was offside before the foul that led to the spot kick, but Mexico’s play in defense, midfield and attack was superior to the Dutch’s over the course of 90 minutes in Amsterdam.
Here are my five key takeaways after watching Wednesday’s match on ESPN2.
#1. Tecatito is fun as hell.