CD Leganes host Barcelona at Estadio Municipal de Butarque after the international break but Javier Aguirre is already sweating over the thought of facing Lionel Messi. The newly-hired manager heaped praises on Messi as he said that penalties and free-kicks are the same for the Barca forward.
In case you didn’t know…
Leganes are at the bottom of the table and sacked Mauricio Pellegrino before hiring Aguirre for the job. The Mexican had a decent start with his new club as he was able to secure a 1-1 draw against the fifth-placed Real Sociedad.
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The heart of the matter
FC Barcelona take on CD Leganes after the international break but Los Pepineros' manager Aguirre is already fretting over over how to stop Messi's free-kicks. The Argentine is in red-hot form and already has four free-kick goals to his name this season. The Mexican hailed the 32-year-old as he said:
"For Messi, a free-kick is a penalty, it's incredible what he does."
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When asked if he would defend set-pieces without a wall, Aguirre responded by saying:
"One of my coaching staff suggested it. I said if I leave Messi outside the area against (goalkeeper) Pichu Cuellar and give him 10 balls, he'd score 11 goals."
What's next?
Barcelona play Leganes on 23 November and it will be interesting to see if Aguirre can keep Messi out with his tactics.
Samyak is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who focuses on writing a variety of listicles. A post-graduate in Finance with over 6 years of total work experience, Samyak became interested in football after watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup and some high-octane El Clasico clashes. His favorite footballer is Cristiano Ronaldo for the forward's mentality, and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Pep Guardiola for the brand of football their teams showcase.
Samyak only follows top tier and verified fan club social media accounts for sourcing information for his articles. One of his core strengths is crafting crisp and concise articles to avoid any and all potential confusion for readers. These shrewd methods have helped him attain strong readership on his articles, one of them even being read half a million times!
Zinedine Zidane's Panenka penalty in the 2006 final is Samyak’s favorite World Cup moment owing to the Frenchman’s sheer nerves of steel showcased, and thinks Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are ready to usher in a new era post-Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. During his free time, Samyak follows Real Madrid, plays football and reads finance articles.
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