Diego Lopez is the first goalkeeper to save two Leo Messi penalties
Lopez saved a Messi penalty at Villarreal in 2017
Ten years later, he denied him in Espanyol colours
Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez is the first man to stop two Lionel Messi penalties after he denied the Barcelona forward in Wednesday's Copa del Rey game.
Lopez made the save from Messi in the second half as Espanyol went on to win the first leg of the quarterfinal tie 1-0 at Cornella-El Prat. The second leg takes place at Camp Nou next Thursday.
The goalkeeper had already saved a penalty from the Argentine when he was a Villarreal player. During a Copa del Rey tie in January 2007 he also saved from the forward.
Another goalkeeper, Ruben Martinez, with a Barça background, has also seen Messi miss two penalties, although the first one was sent over the bar in Barça's 4-1 win over Levante in 2015. In 2017, Ruben did save from Messi as Barça beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-0.
Messi has taken 86 penalties for Barça, scoring 65 and missing 21. His success rate stands at 75.5 percent.
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