Raúl Jiménez celebrating his goal against Arsenal in the Premier League. (Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images)
Raúl Jiménez has reversed the trend of his career when it seemed impossible for him to do so. At Fulham he has finally seen those bright days at Wolverhampton come back to life. His first months in London gave continuity to the martyrdom that accompanied him in his final years with the Wolves. There was no solution to a stormy goal drought. It was a matter of time: Raúl Jiménez’s days in the soccer elite had come to an end. Although he managed to return from that fateful clash of heads with David Luiz, which caused a skull fracture and kept him away from football for eight months, Jiménez did not return to the level that half of Europe fell in love with.
But the 32-year-old forward began to rebuild his career at an urgent pace. At Fulham the feeling was already beginning to grow that they had signed a finished player. He has been a starter so far this season. Of twenty possible games, he has played 17. In 15 of them he has started from the beginning. But it took a long time for those presences to be translated into annotations. The sacrifice and his technical qualities were noticeable, but that is not enough anywhere, least of all in the demanding Premier League.
Raúl Jiménez is 🔛🔥!
The Mexican closed the center perfectly and tied the game for the @FulhamFC 🇲🇽.
Follow the game LIVE, only for https://t.co/MQ9qkIHLnV
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘰 🇲🇽, 🇬🇹, 🇵🇦, 🇭🇳, 🇨🇷, 🇳🇮 and 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/Zcjzb35B0S— Paramount+ México (@ParamountPlusMX) December 31, 2023
When he scored again, on November 12 in his club’s defeat against Aston Villa, the taste could not have been more bitter. Yes, he broke the streak without scoring in the Premier (since March 2022), but his team did not need not only goals but to win, for the impact to be real — and even more so because he arrived to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic. The fight for relegation is very clear this year in England. Fulham, in theory, should not get into trouble even with the irregularity that has characterized them. But you never know in this league. And Jiménez had not been signed solely because of his efforts and his ‘almost goals’.
Continue reading the story
THE DROUGHT IS OVER! ⚽️🥹🇲🇽
Raúl Jiménez (32) 🇲🇽 scored the only goal for his team, Fulham, against Aston Villa.
The Mexican also sent a ball to the post.
This goal means the end of Raúl’s streak of 612 DAYS!! without scoring a goal in the Premier League 🏴
— Diego Brizuela (@_diegoserbriz) November 12, 2023
After that goal against the villains, Jiménez experienced a streak that left him as Fulham’s best scorer at the end of the first round. Five scores, all made in the last two months of competition. The goal took a while to arrive, but he did it and thus said goodbye to 2023 against Arsenal. Suddenly, the ball smiled again at a striker for whom few things had gone well in the last three years. Previously undisputed in El Tri, always questioned, even in his best moment, Jiménez has had to deal in the last two years with the explosion of Santiago Giménez.
Almost namesakes of last name, both compete for the position of starting forward of the Mexican National Team. And none of them convince. Jiménez because his hardships at the club level have constantly been transferred to the National Team. Not only does he not score, but he is far from supporting the creation of the game, a faculty that has been highly valued in his odyssey through Europe. And Giménez because with El Tri she simply cannot replicate the scoring success that has accompanied her at Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
Now Giménez will have to redouble his efforts if he wants to take over the title. The numbers are impressive: 31 goals in the calendar year of the Dutch league and 39 total, taking into account all competitions. Ninth worldwide. He dazzles, but he continues to do so in the Eredivisie. If Jiménez continues like this, his hierarchy will outweigh Giménez’s goals in the Netherlands. That’s football. But there is always the option of seeking other horizons. Santiago can’t wait beyond next summer.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED | ON VIDEO:
Viva México: Fury and tantrum of a motorcyclist when he was hit by an access bar that he evaded
2024-01-02 23:22:02
#Raúl #Jiménez #resurrection #coming #worries #Santi #Giménez
