Though with differing outcomes, young talents Florian Wirtz and Lamine Yamal shine in the Champions League: After defender Eric Garcia was sent off after less than 11 minutes, Barcelona had an uphill battle ahead of them.
Just after dazzling the European Championship, two of the most promising young players in the world made their mark on the biggest platform in club football.
In the Champions League on Thursday, 10-man Barcelona lost 2-1 to Monaco, capping the Spanish team’s undefeated season. Teenage Lamine Yamal’s goal could not salvage the victory.
Florian Wirtz, meanwhile, scored his first goal in the Champions League in less than five minutes during his first game in Europe’s top club competition.
At Feyenoord, Bayer Leverkusen dominated, winning 4-0, and Wirtz added another goal.
“I’ve been eagerly anticipating this game for the past few days, and I also approached it in that manner. But I believe it was the case for everyone,” Wirtz remarked.
“I had two chances, and I just took advantage of them, but I didn’t plan on ending with two goals. After that, you can just expand on it, and I can just try to win every game by taking my opportunities.
After winning the Bundesliga and German Cup, Leverkusen’s sole loss of the incredible season came in the Europa League final in May.
The Atalanta club, who defeated Leverkusen four months prior, drew 0-0 at home with Arsenal after having a penalty saved.
Benfica defeated Red Star Belgrade 2-1, Atlético Madrid defeated Leipzig 2-1, and Brest triumphed 2-1 over Sturm Graz in their inaugural European campaign.
It was the third night of the Champions League, the new structure that took the place of the old group stage.
In order to determine which teams move on to the knockout stage, 36 teams will now face eight different opponents each through January and will be rated in a single league table.
Teenage celebrity
Unusually for the bright 17-year-old, Lamal’s objective was not to set yet another record.
Lamal, who has scored many goals for both Barcelona and Spain, made history this summer by being the youngest goal scorer at the European Championship while also assisting Spain in winning the competition.
However, after colleague Ansu Fati, who scored his first goal in December 2019 at the age of 28, he became the second youngest goalscorer in the competition with his first Champions League goal.
Yamal’s equaliser in the 28th minute negated Maghnes Akliouche’s first goal. And it was another brilliant goal, as Yamal entered the area from the left and inserted the ball between two opponents to find the bottom right corner.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri stated, “He gave us a lot of breathing room; it was a different game at 1-1.” “A fantastic objective, and I’m glad to have him.”
