While Liverpool and Manchester City again look a cut above the rest in England, there’s every indication that a club outside the “Big Six” may yet disrupt the hegemony and finish in the Champions League places. This morning saw a clash between two such sides — Everton and Wolves — at Goodison Park.
Chucky Lozano didn’t take long to make an impact with new club Napoli. Unfortunately for Gli Azzurri, a shocking own goal wiped out an epic three-goal comeback against Juventus.
Lozano scored in his debut in Serie A, helping inspire Napoli back from a three-goal deficit in what appeared to be a storybook first appearance with the Mexican winger’s new club.
But Kalidou Koulibaly accidentally turned the ball into his own net in the 92nd minute to allow Juventus to escape with a 4-3 victory on Saturday in Turin.
Barring a meeting in the 2019 MLS Playoffs — please let that happen — LAFC’s wait for a victory over El Tráfico rivals LA Galaxy will go into a third season. On Sunday night at Banc of California Stadium, the two clubs played to a frantic 3-3 draw after an early Zlatan Ibrahimović brace was answered by two from LAFC’s Latif Blessing. Cristian Pavón and Carlos Vela would also exchange goals.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is about to join Napoli from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of $47 million with his medical scheduled in the coming days, according to NBC Sports. Lozano will sign a five-year deal at the San Paolo and attempt to take his game to the next level under the guidance of manager Carlo Ancelotti and alongside a vaunted attacking unit containing Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Arek Milik.
England’s best non-top-six club is through to the Europa League third qualifying round thanks to a standout performance from Mexico international Raúl Jiménez on Thursday. The El Tri star scored a brace in Wolves’ 4-1 demolition of Northern Ireland’s Crusaders FC, easing the Premier League side into the next round 6-1 on aggregate.
El Tri star Hector Moreno has made a switch from Real Sociedad to Al-Gharafa in Qatar. The Mexican defender has called an end to his European adventure at the age of 31.
Moreno is arguably one of Mexico’s most consistent players over the years and has been an ever-present figure with El Tri.
Recently proving his ability at the top by playing in Mexico’s successful 2019 Gold Cup run, he almost missed it due to injury but he ended up being able to play and helped lead the team to top the United States in the final.
Edson Alvarez is indeed heading to Ajax.
The Mexico International has just made his long-talked-about transfer to the Dutch league.
See you soon!
Welcome Álvarez with !#VamosEdson pic.twitter.com/WTHSUqUyTv
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) July 19, 2019
Mexico’s Hector Herrera just made his big move to Atlético Madrid this summer from Portuguese club Porto and will be lining up alongside João Felix, Marcos Llorente and other stars of the LaLiga giant.
A big move for a Mexican international that has been proving his worth and consistency since 2013 in Europe. At 29, Herrera is on the older side of the sport and he’ll be hoping his years in LaLiga prove to be fruitful.
Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CT on ESPN, the LA Galaxy hosts Los Angeles FC in the fourth edition of El Tráfico. The early days of the Los Angeles Derby have been largely dominated by two players: LAFC’s Carlos Vela is the rivalry's top scorer with four to his name, but the Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović is right behind him with three, including that unforgettable brace on his MLS debut.
Legendary El Tri star Rafael Marquez recently called into question the importance of the national team to the current crop of players. His remarks are a direct references to players like Chicharito and Hector Herrera choosing not to play for El Tri, along with Carlos Vela, who has a history of rejecting call-ups to the national team.