By Victor Kanayo
A Nigerian striker George Ilenikhena put up a Man of the Match performance to help his club Monaco beat Barcelona in the first round of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League clash in France on Thursday night.
Ilenikhena at 18 scored his goal on his Champions League debut.
Even as a substitute, he became the youngest goalscorer in Monaco’s Champions League history, breaking Kylian Mbappe’s record.
He was also named the Man of the Match at the end of the game.
How The Action Panned Out
Maghnes Akilouche fired in for 1-0 after Barca were reduced to 10 men thanks to Eric Garcia’s red card.
And although Lamine Yamal equalised for the Catalans, George Ilenikhena found the winner for Monaco.
The Ligue 1 side have not played in the competition in five years, but they took the lead in front of their fans.
Also, Atalanta played out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal, just as Atletico Madrid beat RB Leipzig 2-1 and Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Feyernood 4-0 in the Netherlands.
