Lamine Yamal's record in the Champions League that was at risk of being broken in Monaco-Barça

Published:20/09/2024 - 18:57h

Updated:20/09/2024 - 19:44h

Lamine Yamal was on the verge of losing one of his numerous UEFA Champions League records during the match against AS Monaco, being challenged by another promising figure from the Barça youth academy. Who was this player and what was the record at stake? Find out at FCBN

Lamine Yamal was one of the figures for FC Barcelona in the unfortunate defeat against AS Monaco (2-1) on the debut matchday of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25. In this match, the Rocafonda native once again etched his name in the competition's history by becoming the second youngest player to score a goal in any phase of this tournament at just 17 years and 68 days old. The record currently belongs to Ansu Fati, who at the age of 17 years and 40 days, scored a goal against Inter Milan (1-2) in 2019.

Coincidentally, the Spanish-Moroccan winger could have lost some of the records he holds in the UEFA Champions League at the tender age of 17. Which record was at risk? That of being the youngest debutant in the competition's history for FC Barcelona, a milestone he set on September 19, 2023 by starting in the match between the Blaugrana and Antwerp (5-0) at just 16 years and 68 days old.

In that sense, during the clash against Monaco, a player could have taken this record away from him if he had played. Who was this player? It was La Masia product Antonio 'Toni' Fernández, who was 16 years and 66 days old in the encounter against AS Monaco.

If he had played, Fernández would have surpassed Lamine Yamal's record by just a couple of days, becoming the youngest debutant for FC Barcelona in the competition's history. Overall, he would have positioned himself as the second youngest in UEFA Champions League history, surpassed only by Youssoufa Moukoko, who made his debut for Dortmund against Zenit (1-2) on December 8, 2020 at the age of 16 years and 18 days.

**'TOP 10' YOUNGEST FC BARCELONA DEBUTANTS IN THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE**
	PLAYER	MATCH	DATE	AGE
1	Lamine Yamal	FC Barcelona 5-0 Royal Antwerp	09/19/2023	16 years, two months, and six days
2	Ansu Fati	Borussia Dortmund 0-0 FC Barcelona	09/17/2019	16 years, 10 months, and 17 days
3	Bojan Krkić	FC Barcelona 3-0 Olympique Lyon	09/19/2007	17 years and 22 days
4	Gavi	FC Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich	09/14/2021	17 years, one month, and nine days
5	Pau Cubarsí	FC Barcelona 3-1 Napoli	03/12/2024	17 years, one month, and 19 days
6	Héctor Fort	Royal Antwerp 3-2 FC Barcelona	12/13/2023	17 years, four months, and 11 days
7	Lionel Messi	Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 FC Barcelona	12/07/2004	17 years, five months, and 13 days
8	Nano	FC Barcelona 5-0 AIK	10/27/1999	17 years, six months, and seven days
9	Gerard Deulofeu	FC Barcelona 4-0 BATE Borisov	12/06/2011	17 years, eight months, and 23 days
10	Marc Guiu	FC Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk	10/25/2023	17 years, nine months, and 21 days