Javier Hernandez's manager was fired, Porto went on a seven-goal rampage and Hector Moreno was once again surprisingly dangerous with his goalscoring opportunities. Here's a look back at this week's Heroes and Villains for the Mexicans in Europe.
Heroes
Roda JC never stood a chance against PSV Eindhoven on Saturday. Led by excellent performances from Andres Guardado and Hector Moreno, PSV rolled past De Koempels with a dominant 4-0 win. Although Guardado was vital with his assist and clever distribution, Moreno was clearly the standout player with his two goals. With his two headers finding the back of the net, the central defender has now collected five this season.
Believe it or not, Real Sociedad is now one point behind Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Following last Friday's 3-2 away win over Real Betis, La Real is now on the cusp of earning a highly-impressive Champions League spot. Despite the fact that Carlos Vela finished without a goal or assist, the striker was still an influential figure in the build-up of many attacking plays.
With a starting role in seven of Villarreal's last eight matches in all competitions, it was no surprise to see Jonathan dos Santos be given a break over the weekend. That said, the midfielder was brought on during the 63rd minute of the recent game against Espanyol and helped secure a vital 2-0 win.
Unfortunately for his fellow countryman Diego Reyes, the Espanyol defender could do little to halt Villarreal's two goals.
Miguel Layun is back! Following several weeks of injury problems and a lack of minutes, the defender provided a goal for Porto in Saturday's 7-0 thrashing of Nacional de Madeira. As for Porto's other two Mexican first-team players, Hector Herrera and Jesus Corona, both were left out of the gameday roster to recover from injuries.
Benfica's narrow 1-0 win over Feirense has helped the club remain at the top of the Primeira Liga table. With five victories in a row, and 13 league goals from Kostas Mitroglou, the Portuguese side is charging through the season. Sadly, this recent run of form has also meant a limited role for backup Raul Jimenez. In the win over Feirense, the Mexican striker was only given playing time in the last four minutes of the match.
Villains
Granada can't get itself out of a relegation spot in La Liga. Although El Grana has earned a few surprise wins in recent weeks, the team continues to gain just as many disappointing performances in Spain. On Saturday, Granada's plan of parking the bus failed in the 1-0 loss to Leganes. In between the posts, Guillermo Ochoa was once again left with the dreadful job of saving a Granada side which had nothing to show in attack.
Auf wiedersehen, Roger Schmidt. After a lackluster Bundesliga campaign, and an embarrassing 6-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund over the weekend, Bayer Leverkusen has parted ways with its manager. The big question now is how the managerial change will impact striker Javier Hernandez, especially after the recent end to his goal drought. In the loss to Dortmund, the Mexico international was substituted on in the 66th minute.
On Sunday, Fiorentina stumbled to a 0-0 draw with Atalanta. The draw marked the fourth match in a row, in all competitions, that the Italian side has yet to gain a win. As for Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo, the 23-year-old returned to his all-too-familiar spot on Fiorentina's bench without any minutes.
Cesar Hernandez covers Liga MX and the Mexican national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @cesarhfutbol