It's no shame to be eliminated from the Champions League by the current best player in the world, who hapens to be one of the greatest of all time. That's what happened to Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Bayer Leverkusen Wednesday, when they were eliminated by Lionel Messi and Barcelona.
Raul Jimenez is sometimes lost in the shuffle, with the likes of Chicharito, Miguel Layun and Tecatito Corona blowing up Europe these days.
Heck, even Carlos Vela gets more press than Jimenez, but that might be due to the "will he ever reach his full potential?" factor.
That fact is, Raul Jimenez is pretty dang good. He's been effective for Benfica pretty much whenever he's played. Tuesday, he came in off the bench in Benfica's Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid (Benfica went through anyway) and got himself a class assist.
What a way to end the Champions League group stage (yes, we know the Champions League group stage isn't technically over yet): Anthony Martial and Manchester United wages a desperate battle against Wolfsburg while Andres Guardado and PSV waged an equally desperate battle against CSKA Moscow.
Separated in the table by just a point, neither team could afford to lose, and what transpired was an insane ten hours of soccer.
Anthony Martial got Manchester United off to a hot start in the 10th minute.
So, Ronaldo looks to be back to his old self, extending his record for Champions League goals and setting the record for goals in a Champions League group stage (11) Tuesday against Malmo.
Cristiano had an absurd four goals in thereabouts 20 minutes across end of the first half and beginning of the second half.
Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick pic.twitter.com/FlA2VdysaI
A few weeks ago, Wolfsburg played Chelsea in the round of 16 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League - which, yes, is a glorious thing that exists albeit in relative obscurity - and Swiss midfielder Vanessa Bernauer went all Paul Pogba and unleashed this scowling, dipping boomer:
Porto's Mexican trio of Miguel Layun, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona and Hector Herrera have been playing well so far this season, and they continued that run of good form on Saturday in a win against Pacos de Ferreira.
After Pacos took a 1-0 lead, Tecatito equalized in the 29th minute and Layun won the game with a penalty in the 64th minute.
Hertha Berlin won the game, but Bayer Leverkusen's Mexican forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez continued hus run of fine form with another goal.
This run has seen Hernandez score 11 goals in his last 10 games and for his efforts be named the Bundesliga player of the month for November. His latest goal was an equalizer to level the Hertha Berlin-Bayer Leverkusen game at 1-1. Berlin would go on to win 2-1, with Hernandez picking up a yellow card for arguing with the referee in the 93rd minute.
Hector Herrera and Miguel Layun are teammates at Porto. They are also teammates on the Mexico national team.
Layun joined Porto this season on loan from English Premier League club Watford, and he's been in fantastic form. He continued that form with an assist Wednesday. The goal scorer? Hector Herrera.
Many El Tri fans consider Jesus "Tecatito" Corona to be one of Mexico's brightest young players. The winger, who plays for Porto in Portugal's Premeira Liga, gave Mexico fans good cause for their optimism Wednesday when he scored a pretty awesome goal in a cup game.
Golazo de Tecatito Corona en la Taça de Portugal. @ESPN_FDJ pic.twitter.com/tOGNcrMCgn
He is a finalist for the 2015 FIFA Puskas Award, but the year wasn’t all roses for Wendell Lira. The 26-year-old was unemployed when he heard the news that his masterpiece would be running for goal of the year.
After scoring this beauty for Goianesia in the Goias State Championship, Lira transferred to Brazilian Third Division side Tombense, but his spell there didn’t last long.