Kenneth Omeruo made his 13th La Liga start for Leganes who recorded their second away win of the season defeating Rayo Vallecano 2-1 reports Completesports.com.
The win was Leganes third over Rayo Vallecano in four games this season across all competition.
On-loan Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite opened the scoring for Leganes after 36 minutes when he headed home from Jonathan Silva’s corner.
But Leganes’ hopes of holding on took a knock when Allan Nyom was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Adrian Embarba just before the hour.
The numerical advantage played into Vallecano’s hands as Alvaro Garcia netted on the rebound in the 83rd minute after fellow substitute Jose Pozo’s initial shot had been saved.
But the hosts were level for barely two minutes before they conceded again, Youssef En-Nesyri heading beyond Stole Dimitrievski from Oscar Rodriguez’s corner.
Omeruo has made 15 league appearance since he arrived on a season loan from Premier League club, Chelsea.
Defeat for 18th-placed Vallecano ended their impressive unbeaten run, having won four of their previous five fixtures, and they are now one point adrift of safety.
While for Leganes, the win moves to 13th in the standings, three points clear of the LaLiga relegation zone despite finishing the fixture with 10 men.
In Turkey, Abdulahi Shehu was an unused substitute for Bursaspor who played out a goalless draw at home to Konyaspor.
Shehu has made only two appearances this season due to his injury setback.
By Johnny Edward.
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COMMENTS
Kenneth Omeruo has been in his strides and playing close to his potentials after his initial inactivity upon teaming up with Leganes.
He and Troost-Ekong will be the longer term fulcrum of the Super Eagles defence considering Balogun’s advance age, and it is good the both are getting quality game time with their respective club sides.
Omeruo’s quality has never been in doubt, save for some occasional blip.
That said,we need to start grooming up coming talents in the central defense position of the Super Eagles,for I presage a possible crisis emerging there considering of the upcoming exiting young talents coming through the ranks,hardly is any a central defender.
As for Shehu Abdullahi, isn’t it high time we started playing him in his natural position-defensive midfield-in the Super Eagles as he is currently being played at his club? The right back position of the Super Eagles is already saturated,though he would still offer options there as an utility player.
@Akin,
Shehu has managed a total of ten minutes for his club since the world cup and I think 19 minutes for the SE. And there are many ways ahead of him in crowded midfield options.
Ndidi, Mikel, Agu, Ogu, Etebo, Ajayi are all ahead of Shehu in the pecking order. At this temperature even at right back, Aina and Awaziem have performed at a credible rate and better than he had managed in the SE. I dare say once Ebuehi is back he will most likely climb above Shehu in the packing order. Shehu needs to concentrate on getting himself fit and playing regularly for his club before thinking about the SE.
Omeruo has been performing at a consistent rate in La Liga and has been rated our most effective defender for the SE in the top five leagues in the world for the month of December. I dare say he has moved ahead of Balogun in the reckoning for a SE starting spot for a place along side Troost. He should also be the first name on the sheet in defence.
Other defenders who have come to the fore are Derik Oseide of Numancia in La Liga2 who has been performing at a high rate week in week out, posting performance scores of average 7.2. the former Real Madrid Youth player had a stint in Bolton and was released, bit seems to have hit a purple patch this year.
Also hitting the headlines again is Chidozie Awaziem on loan to Rizespor from Porto. He appeared for the entire match on Sunday and was rated between 7.6 (who scored) and 7.9 (sofascore). With six clearances, 3 blocked shots, one interception plus 8 duels won. That was his second match in a row for his club after coming on as a late sun on the 27th of Jan.
Competition for places is hotting up and I fear Balogun may miss out on an AFCON place if he didn’t get game time this season
I think its high time Omeruo displaces Balogun for the cb role. I’ve Watched a couple Leganese games and I must say he has improved. He was fantastic against Barca. And I’m a Barcelona supporter.