Nigerian and Monaco Forward, George Ilenikhena surpassed Kylian Mbappe’s Monaco Champions League record by scoring the decisive goal in his team’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Thursday night.
With the match tied 1-1 at Stade Louis II, following Lamine Yamal’s equalizer to Maghnes Akliouche’s opener, the Nigerian teenager secured the win with a 71st-minute strike.
Just 12 minutes after coming on for Breel Embolo, the 18-year-old Ilenikhena latched onto Vanderson’s long pass and slotted the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. By doing so, he broke a club record held by Mbappe, becoming Monaco’s youngest scorer in the European competition at 18 years and 34 days old. Mbappe had set the previous record at 18 years and 63 days in February 2017 during a 5-3 loss to Manchester City.
Ilenikhena also made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score against the same team in consecutive games for different clubs, having previously scored for Royal Antwerp against Barcelona in December 2023.
