Fútbol Americano
Cesar Hernandez, ESPN FC 7y

Mexicans in Europe: Diego Reyes continues rise with Espanyol in La Liga

It's a bit easy to forget about Espanyol's Diego Reyes.

With names such as Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Carlos Vela and Guillermo Ochoa dominating attention, Reyes is at times lost in the discussion of the Mexicans in Europe.

Although the central defender might not have many eye-catching highlights to his name this season, he has been able to attain a key role in an established La Liga club. Since October of last year, Reyes has been given the start in every league match for Espanyol.

During Sunday's 3-0 victory against Osasuna, it was easy to see why the 24-year-old has become an important member of the roster. Along with his well-timed defensive interventions, Reyes was near-perfect with his distribution going forward.

With two FIFA World Cup qualifiers coming up in late March for the Mexico national team, the defender's recent rise in Spain will do plenty to help him squeeze into a key spot for El Tri. Keeping in mind that several talented names are able to occupy his position as a central defender or defensive midfielder for Mexico, it's imperative that the Espanyol player continues to garner regular minutes.

Thanks to his ongoing starting role abroad, Reyes leads this week's list of the Mexicans in Europe.

Jesus Corona, FW, Porto (Portugal)

Corona provided the assist for Porto's winner in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Boavista. Unfortunately, after earning a yellow and suffering a knock to his knee, the winger was substituted out during half-time.

Miguel Layun, DF, Porto (Portugal)

Layun was given only a quick run out as an 85th-minute substitute following a late red card for teammate Maxi Pereira.

Javier Hernandez, FW, Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

Despite taking three shots for Leverkusen, "Chicharito" failed to find the back of the net during Saturday's 2-0 loss to Mainz. The striker, who took part in the full 90 minutes, finished without a single shot on target.

Jonathan Dos Santos, MF, Villarreal (Spain)

After helping his team jump out to a 2-0 lead, controlling the midfield admirably, Dos Santos and Villarreal stumbled Sunday in their eventual 3-2 loss to Real Madrid. In spite of the defeat, though, the starting midfielder was impressive for the Yellow Submarine.

Carlos Vela, FW, Real Sociedad (Spain)

Vela was given 88 minutes in the narrow 1-0 win over Las Palmas on Friday. With more possession and attacking momentum for Las Palmas, the winger struggled to make much of an impact for Real Sociedad.

Andres Guardado, MF, PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

PSV's 17-game undefeated streak was snapped with a 2-1 defeat against Feyenoord on Sunday. Although Guardado helped take charge of possession in his 84 minutes on the pitch, he could do little to halt the opposition's two goals, one of which was earned by the narrowest of margins.

Hector Moreno, DF, PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Moreno took part in the full 90 minutes for PSV in the loss to Feyenoord. Although the defender finished as his side's leading passer, his distribution and clearances weren't enough to save at least one point over the weekend.

Raul Jimenez, FW, Benfica (Portugal)

During Friday's 3-1 victory against Chaves, Jimenez was left on the bench for Benfica. The striker has yet to gain a start in a league match since December.

Guillermo Ochoa, GK, Granada (Spain)

Sunday's 3-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao will be one Ochoa will want to forget. Despite the fact that the goalkeeper was not at fault for the opposition's first goal, the following two for Bilbao were helped by simple errors from Ochoa.

Not Available

Marco Fabian, MF, Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)

Due to an ongoing injury, Fabian was left out of the roster for Saturday's 2-0 loss to Hertha Berlin.

Pedro Arce, MF, Veria (Greece)

Arce's next Greek Super League match is scheduled for Monday against Atromitos.

Hector Herrera, MF, Porto (Portugal)

Following some gruesome cuts to his left foot in the midweek Champions League loss to Juventus, Herrera was left out of Sunday's roster.

Carlos Salcedo, DF, Fiorentina (Italy)

Salcedo's next Serie A match is scheduled for Monday against Torino.

Cesar Hernandez covers Liga MX and the Mexican national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @cesarhfutbol

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