Teenager Lamine Yamal’s sparkling strike failed to prevent 10-man Barcelona from conceding the 2-1 defeat against Monaco on Thursday in the Champions League. 

Yamal’s first Champions League goal made him the second youngest goalscorer in the competition, behind teammate Ansu Fati, who was 28 days younger when he scored his first goal in December 2019.

Barcelona’s experienced midfielder Pedri, however, heaped praise on young Yamal, stating, "He gave us a lot of breathing room. It was a different game at 1-1. It was a great goal, and I am happy to have him.”

Meanwhile, Florian Wirtz, another teenage prodigy took less than five minutes to score his first Champions League goal on his debut in Europe’s elite club competition as Bayer Leverkusen romped to a 4-0 win at Feyenoord.

“I was really looking forward to this game for the last few days already, and that’s how I approached the game too. I think, however, it was like that for everyone,” Wirtz said.

He added, “I didn’t count on finishing with two goals, but I had two chances and I just used them both. And then you can just build on that and I can just try to take my chances in every game.”