Izuchukwu Okosi
Dutch striker Luuk de Jong scored a backbreaking goal in the 96th-minute as Barcelona snatched a 2-2 draw against city rivals Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Tonny Vilhena took his place in the Espanyol midfield opposite Frenkie de Jong. Luuk de Jong was on the Barcelona bench while Memphis Depay is still not fit enough.
After only two minutes, Barcelona had the lead with Jordi Alba setting up Pedri to net the opener, the ball coming off the frame of the post and going in, but Espanyol hit back through Sergi Darder in the 40th minute.
Gavi had a goal disallowed early in the second half before Espanyol decided to take Vilhena off, possibly because he had just received a yellow card. De Jong quickly followed him off as Xavi swapped him for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Espanyol took the lead in the 64th minute as Raul de Tomas stunned Barcelona and it seemed that was going to be the winning goal. However, Luuk de Jong came off the bench in the 88th minute, and deep into injury time, he rose to head in a cross to earn his side a point.
Both teams ended the game with ten men and a point each. Barcelona are 4th in the table while Espanyol are 13th.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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