Only two English teenagers have made six or more starts in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) since the of the competition. Interestingly, both of them are involved in Round of 16 of the tournament in the current season. Who are these teenage sensations?...CONTINUE READING
The first teenager to achieve this feat is Trent Alexander-Arnold. The right-back who was born on October 7, 1998 got his first start in a UCL knockout game when he featured for Liverpool in their Round of 16 clash with FC Porto on February 14, 2018.
His 3 successful tackles in the game were the joint highest along with those of Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk who are both 7 years older. His efforts were part of the reason the Reds went away with 5-0 win in the match.
The 2015 U-17 World Cup participant was also call into action in both legs of the quarter final clash with Manchester City. The Citizens were beaten 5-1 aggregate. He started both home and away against Roma in the semi finals helping the Anfield club to a 7-6 aggregate win.
The former Liverpool academy player also played for the entire 90 minutes in the final against Real Madrid. No defender won more tackles than him but his efforts were not enough to prevent Los Blancos from lifting the trophy.
The second player in this category is Jude Bellingham who moved to Borussia Dortmund for a fee of twenty five million Euros in 2020. His first start in the UCL came on February 17, 2021.
He had 90 minutes of action as the German outfit got a 3-2 away win against Sevilla in the first leg of the Round of 16 of 2020/21 tournament.
He also played the entire duration in the return leg. The former Birmingham player was called to action against Manchester City in the quarter final of the competition.
The Black and Yellows lost each of the legs 2-1. However, it was the young Englishman who scored who scored BVB’s lone goal in the second leg. The 15th-minute goal was his first in the European top flight tournament.
His next knockout stage start was to come in the 2022/23 season. He was involved in Round of 16 action as the 2020/21 German Cup winners beat Chelsea at on February 15, 2023. He was also called to action as the one-time UCL winners hosted the Blues in the reverse fixture.
