Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo will be seeking to have one over Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi this evening at the Camp Nou when his relegation-haunted club CD Leganes travel to face league leaders, Barcelona in a LaLiga matchday 29 fixture, Completesports.com reports.
Omeruo has played against Messi three times viz one at the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 and twice in the LaLiga with the Argentine having the better of the Nigerian.
Omeruo’s first attempt at stopping Messi was at the World Cup at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg on June 26,2018.The Nigerian was unsuccessful as Messi scored the first goal of the goal in a 2-1 win by Argentina,a defeat which saw Nigerian’s World Cup campaign ended at the group stage for the third time in six appearances.
The battle ground shifted to the LaLiga with Omeruo starring for all 90 minutes when Leganes went,saw but crumbled 3-1 at the Camp Nou in January 2019.Messi scored the third goal in that encounter at the dot of 90 minutes.
At the Estadio Municipal de Butarque later in November of that year, Omeruo was on for 83 minutesbut could not stop Barcelona from running away with all three points in a 2-1 win.
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Tonight,the Nigerian who will be hoping to make his 49th LaLiga appearance will be trying to do the impossible-stop Messi. The Argentine ran the show on Saturday when Barcelona annihilated Mallorca 4-0 while Leganes suffered a 2-0 loss to Real Valladolid on the same day.
Leganes are 19th on the log with 23 points from 28 games and must win their remaining 10 games if they hope to stay in the LaLiga for next season.
The club based in the outskirts of Madrid will be relying on Omeruo and his Nigerian compatriot, Chidozie Awaziem to provide the defensive solidity that will stop Messi and company from compounding their woes.
Awaziem has started 17 of the 19 games he has played for Leganes this term and will be looking to quickly atone for the error he committed last week which led to Valladolid’s first goal.
