Super Eagles midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo, put up a solid shift as Las Palmas held pacesetters, Barcelona, 1-1 in the La Liga on Thursday.
Lionel Messi put the visitors ahead with a powerful free kick shot into the top corner in the 20th minute, but the hosts equalized through a penalty kick converted by Jonathan Calleri early in the second half after a controversial handball by Lucas Digne.
Las Palmas completely stifled the Catalans’ offence, with Etebo particularly impressive.
The Nigerian who hasn’t missed any minute of the Canary club’s games since his switch from Portugal seemingly won the midfield battle against the likes of Sergio Busquets, Paulinho and Andres Iniesta.
Etebo was fouled more times by the opposition more than his teammates, winning four duels, double the figure of Vicente Gómez and Jonathan Calleri, who drew two each.
He was also the most accurate with the ball at his feet of all the 14 players in action for Las Palmas, finishing the game with a passing accuracy of 92 percent to place first ahead of Vicente Gómez with 86.8 percent.
Etebo is already being touted to remain in the Spanish top-tier, whether or not Palmas survive the relegation tussle.
