Akinlabi Enters The History Books As First Nigerian To Play Competitively For Real Madrid

Published: September 20, 2020

The Real Madrid player every Nigerian was hoping would come off the bench against Real Sociedad, Marvin Akinlabi was handed his competitive debut for the La Liga champions on Sunday night, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Coach Zinedine Zidane brought him on to replace Rodrygo with twenty-one minutes remaining and the visitors searching for a winning goal as the score remained goalless.

Wearing the number 28 jersey when he stepped out on to the Reale Seguros Stadium turf, Akinlabi entered into the history books as the first Nigeria-eligible player in history to play competitively for Real Madrid's first team in the process.

He has been knocking on Real Madrid's first team door after helping the club win their first UEFA Youth League title last month and impressed the Frenchman in pre-season training.

Nine minutes after Akinlabi's introduction, he had a chance to break the deadlock but couldn't put the ball under control and failed to benefit from Vinicius Junior's cross.

The 20-year-old was drafted into the Real Madrid squad for the trip to Real Sociedad as a result of the unavailability of Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez due to physical problems, and the transfer of Wales winger Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : realmadrid.com

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