Barcelona’s Fati becomes the youngest scorer in Champions League history
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati became the youngest scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League after he netted a late winner in his side’s 2-1 victory over Inter Milan Tuesday.
At just 17 years and 40 days old, Fati overtook Peter Ofori-Quaye as the competition’s youngest marksman after coming on as an 85th-minute substitute.
The Spain Under 21 international took just 98 seconds to make his mark, combining with striker Luis Suarez to write his name into the history books.
“I played the give and go with Luis [Suarez] and when I scored the stadium just went silent. I’m super happy,” Fati said after the match in Milan.
“It’s a dream. Everything seems to be going at high speed. I just have to take every opportunity I’m given. But here, you look around and think, ‘What have I done?'”
READ: The 100 seconds that saved Liverpool’s Champions League hopes
READ: UEFA Champions League — As it happened
With Barcelona already through to the knockout stages of the competition, boss Ernesto Valverde rested a host of star players, including captain Lionel Messi, for the trip to the San Siro.
However, with the Argentine sitting in the stands, his young counterparts were able to steal the limelight.
Barcelona initially took the lead in the game through Carles Perez’s debut goal in the competition before striker Romelu Lukaku fired in an equalizer.
The stage was then set for Fati to sweep home a wonderful finish to deny Inter Milan a place in the last 16.
“Ansu [Fati] is a born scorer and although he’s had some niggling pain, we wanted him to have some minutes,” Valverde said after the match, per BBC Sport.
“That it’s a Barca lad who’s the youngest ever scorer in this competition delights us.”
Fati, who was born in Guinea-Bissau, is a graduate of Barcelona’s famed academy and has been enjoying a breakthrough season for the Catalan club. He’s made nine La Liga appearances for the first team, scoring two goals.
