Barcelona news: For Messi, a free-kick is a penalty, says Aguirre ahead of Barca vs Leganes

What’s the story?

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.

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."

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."