CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
What “youngest player” records does Barcelona star Lamine Yamal hold?
The teenager is already LaLiga’s youngest goalscorer, but what about the Champions League?
Lamine Yamal sent hearts racing in Barcelona as he set up the opening goal in a dramatic night of Champions League football against PSG.
Lamine Yamal takes LaLiga goalscorer record
The winger’s goal in first-half injury-time against Granada in October saw him break yet another record, that of the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Spanish top flight. Yamal, who was born on 10 July 2007, scored his first LaLiga goal at the age of just 16 years and 87 days, beating the previous record holder, Málaga’s Fabrice Olinga, by 11 days. The Cameroonian’s strike against Celta Vigo in August 2012 was his only first-team goal in Spain.
Yamal’s Barcelona records
While Yamal doesn’t hold the record for the youngest player to feature in a LaLiga game (that’s former Real Mallorca midfielder Luka Romero, who now plays for AC Milan, at 15 years and 219 days), he is both the youngest to play for Barcelona’s first team (15 years, nine months and 16 days) and their youngest starter (16 years and 38 days). He achieved those feats on his first-team debut against Real Betis in April and versus Cádiz in August respectively.
Youngest Spain international and goalscorer
In the September international break, the teenager found the net on his international debut for Spain against Georgia at just 16 years and 57 years old, breaking club teammate Gavi’s records as both youngest appearance-maker and goalscorer for La Roja. His goal also saw him surpass former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale as the youngest ever scorer in European Championship qualifying.
Champions League target
Yamal didn’t quite manage to take the record for youngest male player ever to play in a Champions League game, which is held by Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, but has a little under a year to try to break Ansu Fati’s youngest goalscorer record (17 years and 40 days) in the competition.
Against PSG he got the assist for the first goal of the night in Cataluña that turned out to be incredibly dramatic. Ronald Araujo was sent off in the first half that was filled with controversy.
Follow the second half live on AS USA with Roddy, who won’t have any fingernails left after typing at the speed of a small asteroid.