Barca coach Koeman rests Messi and De Jong for Champions League clash against Kiev

Gulf Today Report

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman decided to rest two key players Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong for their crucial Champions League (CL) clash on Tuesday against Dynamo Kiev.

Barca, who have nine points with three wins from as many games, are at the top of their group. They lead the second-placed Juventus by three points and will travel to Ukraine for an away fixtures against Kiev.

However, Barca have failed to carry the same form against in their domestic competition and are sitting at a lowly 12th after their most recent loss against Atletico Madrid.

"We've decided not to take Leo or Frenkie because our situation in the Champions League is quite comfortable," Koeman told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game.

Both Messi and De Jong have been a permanent of feature of their team’s roster. Apart from playing in all the Barcelona matches so far this season, Messi has also played the full 90 minutes for Argentina four times over the month of October and November in their world Cup qualifiers.

Midfielder De Jong has also played every match for the Catalan giants besides featuring for the Netherlands in five fixtures over the same period of time.

"The players need a break and we think it's time for them to rest. Both have played almost every minute and come from playing with their national teams," Koeman added.

"Sometimes, you have to protect your players because the calendar is incredible." The European football calendar has been crammed with back to back matches to make up for the loss of three-month time due the pandemic.

Coronavirus, which broke out in the last November, wreaked havoc across the globe, bringing all the sporting activities to a halt.

Injuries to several key players including Ansu Fati, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique have forced Koeman to rotate. Antoine Griezmann and promising teen Pedri are expected to lead the attack while Clement Lenglet will lead the defence in the absence of both Pique, who picked up a knee injury on Saturday, and Samuel Umtiti.