Barcelona rests Messi, De Jong in Champions League match

Champions League has been Barcelona’s safe haven this season, so much so that club will leave Lionel Messi at home for Tuesday's match in Ukraine.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman is resting Messi and midfielder Frenkie de Jong for game against Dynamo Kyiv, when Catalan club can secure a spot in kckout st for 17th straight season.

“Neir Leo r Frenkie are traveling,” Koeman said Monday. “y need some rest. With nine points in our group, we are in a comfortable situation and we have to keep m fresh.”

Messi has played in every match so far this season after having his request to leave club denied in offseason. De Jong had also played in every match, and both also spent time with ir national teams.

“In Leo's case you also have trips to South America (to play with Argentina),” Koeman said. “We have to protect our players. It's impossible for m to play every match and always be at ir best. Everyone kws that, but we have to keep playing several matches. FIFA and UEFA should take action because it's impossible to be playing all se matches.”

Barcelona's perfect campaign in Champions League has been only good thing for club recently. It doesn’t have a president in charge, it is dealing with financial difficulties, several of its players are injured and it has struggled in Spanish league.

Barcelona is coming off a loss to Atlético Madrid that left team in 12th place in Spanish league after eight matches.

“We can’t be happy with our results, but we need to stay motivated,” Koeman said. “We have ar match tomorrow (Tuesday) and we are one step away from advancing, so we have to take advant of this opportunity.”

club is being led by a managing committee since former president Josep Bartomeu and his board of directors resigned after fallout from Messi crisis. club also has been in middle of difficult negotiations with players to adjust ir salaries amid coronavirus pandemic.

In match against Atlético, Barcelona also lost two players because of injuries — Sergi Roberto with a muscle injury and Gerard Piqué with a serious knee injury.

“(Piqué) represents a significant absence,” Koeman said. “He has been here for several years and has great personality. It’s sad for team and for club. It’s tough, but we have to accept it and try to solve problem.”

Koeman said he may use a player from “B” team to make up for short in central defenders. He could use 21-year-old Óscar Mingueza to play alongside Clément Lenglet, as Ronald Araújo is returning from an injury. De Jong has played as a central defender and is an option for Koeman in future matches.

“We can’t take any risks because we have very few central defenders,” he said.

Lenglet said he would be willing to play on right side if needed.

“It’s t my usual position, it’s a bit different, but I can do it to try to help club,” he said.

Barcelona has won its Champions League group every time since 2007-08, and it hasn’t lost a group match since 2016-17 season. Dynamo Kyiv is making its first group appearance since that 2016-17 season.

With three victories from three matches, Barcelona leads Group G ahead of Juventus and has an eight-point advant over both Dynamo Kyiv and Hungarian club Ferencváros. Juventus has six points.