The 17-year-old prodigy became the second-youngest player ever to net in the competition’s knockout stages with his strike past Ederson
Borussia Dortmund starlet Jude Bellingham wrote his name into the Champions League history books on Wednesday with a brilliantly taken goal for his side against Manchester City.
The 17-year-old levelled the aggregate score at 2-2 in the quarter-final tie when he curved a sublime shot past Ederson 15 minutes into the second leg.
He is the latest prodigy to come to the fore for the Bundesliga side, rewriting several long-standing records in the process.
Dortmund’s Wunderkind
Bellingham made his 10th appearance in the competition on Wednesday, in itself a feat that had previously only occurred once for a player of his age.
At 17 years and 289 days the former Birmingham City player joined Youri Tielemans as the two footballers to have reached double figures in the competition prior to their 18th birthday.
Even better was to come for the new England international, though, as he broke his scoring duck in the Champions League in stunning fashion.
Only Bojan Krkic, who scored for Barcelona aged 17 years and 217 days against Schalke in 2008, has scored in a Champions League knock-out game at a younger age.
17y 289d – Jude Bellingham is the second-youngest player to score in a UEFA Champions League knockout game, after Bojan for Barcelona against Schalke in April 2008 (17y 217d). Stage. pic.twitter.com/r2JuIUhcLQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 14, 2021
Bellingham also became the youngest English player ever to score in the tournament, displacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; while he is additionally the youngest footballer to net for a German club in the competition.
The bigger picture
The teenager moved to Dortmund from Birmingham last summer in an undisclosed deal that was reportedly worth an initial £25 million, making him the most expensive 17-year-old in football history.
And despite his age, he has wasted no time in showing the Bundesliga giants he was worth that hefty investment.
Bellingham has made just shy of 40 appearances for BVB in all competitions during his debut season, scoring three goals including Wednesday’s effort while playing primarily in the centre of midfield.
His performances have also caught the eye of England, for whom he made his senior debut during the November international window against the Republic of Ireland.
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