Brighton's Balogun Reveals How He'll Stop Hazard From Scoring; Compares Chelsea Dazzler & Messi
Published: December 13, 2018Ahead of the visit of Chelsea to the American Express Community Stadium on Sunday, Leon Balogun believes he has masterminded a method to prevent Belgium World Cup star Eden Hazard from finding the net.
The Nigeria international defender is no stranger to facing world class strikers as he came up against the likes of Gonzalo Higuaín, Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic and Robert Lewandowski in international matches in 2018 and none of them managed to score.
Balogun's defensive skills were put to test in Russia when Nigeria met an Argentina team containing unarguably the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi.
Comparing the two players, Hazard and Messi, Balogun told Brighton's official website: ''They’re slightly different players, but are both outstanding. If you want to stop players like that, then you need a strong collective effort from the team.
''If you’re facing either of them one on one, you have to be patient and don’t fall for every one of their movements.
''You have to be sharp, but players of that quality can react to anything you do. You have to stay tight and don’t give them the licence to play their game.
''Mainly it’s about defending against them collectively, and delay them making the pass or taking the shot they want.''
''You have to be sharp, but players of that quality can react to anything you do. You have to stay tight and don’t give them the licence to play their game.
''Mainly it’s about defending against them collectively, and delay them making the pass or taking the shot they want.''
Having missed ten games on the bounce, Balogun has been involved in the last three matches contested by the Seagulls in the Premier League.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
Latest News
- Cyriel Dessers equals Rangers' 18-year-old record with strike against St Mirren
- The Finidi George era begins: Can he lead Super Eagles to the World Cup promised land?
- Nigerian winger resumes training with Arsenal U21s after lengthy spell on the sidelines
- Official: Former Ajax Amsterdam winger Finidi appointed as Super Eagles coach
- Two-time Serie A champions Lazio yet to table offer for Super Eagles midfielder, but interest is real
- 'He's like a big brother to me' - Ajax striker Akpom shares advice he got from his Nigerian agent
- Key statistic highlights how Osimhen dominated Roma but needs to improve his shot conversion rate
- 5 players to keep an eye on at UEFA EURO 2024
- Chelsea winger Madueke joins Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool, Tottenham stars in PL TOTW
- Late appointment of new Super Eagles coach: National Assembly summons NFF president, Eguavoen
Football News 24/7
News Categories
- Football Betting
- African Players
- Australia/ Asia
- Belgian Championship
- Bundesliga
- Danish Football
- English Premier League
- Nigeria National Teams
- Nigeria Premier League
- Norwegian Football
- Polish Football
- Russian Championship
- Serie A
- Spanish Liga
- Swedish Championship
- Transfer
- Turkish Championship
- Ukrainian Football
- Uncategorized
- Women's Football