Six teenagers scored in the Champions League this week, matching the joint-most in a single round. Emerging talents from clubs like Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona dazzled with goals and assists in key matches. BBC Sport highlights the young players who announced themselves as Europe's brightest stars.
Youth took center stage in the Champions League, with standout performances from several teenagers across the competition.
In Chelsea's 5-1 demolition of 10-man Ajax, the Blues fielded minutes to 10 players aged 21 or younger and became the first team in history to have three teenage scorers. Marc Guiu, a 19-year-old Spanish striker known as a powerful, quick number nine, poked home the opener to briefly become Chelsea's youngest goalscorer in the competition. His record lasted just 33 minutes before Estevao Willian, one year, three months and 20 days younger, netted a penalty. The Brazil international with nine caps was called a "special talent" by ex-England striker Wayne Rooney after a recent winner against Liverpool. Teammate Jorrel Hato, another starter, compared him to Barcelona's Lamine Yamal. English winger Tyrique George, 19, scored the fifth goal after playing 750 minutes in Chelsea's Europa Conference League title run last season. Reggie Walsh, a 17-year-old technical deep-lying playmaker who turned 17 on Monday, became Chelsea's youngest player in the competition. Jamie Gittens, 21, set a club record as the youngest to create five or more chances in a match, surpassing Eden Hazard.
Elsewhere, 17-year-old Icelandic striker Viktor Dadason scored a 90th-minute consolation header for Copenhagen in their 4-2 defeat by Borussia Dortmund, becoming the third youngest scorer in the modern era. It was his first goal for the side after debuting in the Danish Superliga on Friday.
German prospect Lennart Karl, 17, marked his first Bayern Munich start by scoring the opener after five minutes in a 4-0 win over Club Brugge. The attacking midfielder waltzed past two defenders for a left-footed top-corner shot; he scored 27 goals and 11 assists in 18 under-17 matches last season.
In Barcelona's 6-1 victory over Olympiacos, 17-year-old La Masia midfielder Dro Fernandez provided an assist for Fermin Lopez with a threaded pass, earning comparisons to Andres Iniesta and Thiago Alcantara. Swedish winger Roony Bardghji, 19, who joined from Copenhagen in the summer, assisted another Lopez goal—part of his hat-trick—with an elastico skill and cross. Born in Kuwait to Syrian parents and likened to Mohamed Salah, Bardghji debuted for Sweden this month and scored a famous 87th-minute winner against Manchester United in 2023.