UCL: Lagos-born striker Ilenikhena breaks Monaco record held by Mbappe after scoring against Barcelona 

George Ilenikhena scored for the second consecutive game against Barcelona as he netted the winning goal for AS Monaco in their 2-1 win over the Spanish giants in the UEFA Champions League fixture played at the Stade Louis II on Thursday night.

Eric Garcia got his marching orders in the 10th minute to hand Monaco a numerical advantage and they took the lead five minutes later when Maghnes Akliouche opened the scoring with a brilliant strike into the bottom right corner.

Spanish youngster Lamine Yamal restored parity for Barcelona, firing a precise shot from outside the area to register his eighth goal contribution this term.

Ilenikhena came on for Breel Embolo in the 59th minute as Monaco sought to back the maximum and he justified his selection to bring him on.

In the 71st minute, the Lagos-born striker received a pass from Vanderson and mounted a counter-attack, which ended up with him scoring with a precise shot he fired past Marc-André ter Stegen.

According to OPTA, George Ilenikhena (18 years and 34 days) became the youngest player to score for Monaco in the Champions League, overtaking Kylian Mbappe who was aged 18 years and 63 days when he got on the scoresheet against Manchester City on February 21, 2017.

Ilenikhena has now scored in two consecutive games against the La Liga giants as he netted against them last December during his time with Royal Antwerp to become the youngest-ever Nigerian to score in the Champions League.

Tonight's strike is also his first for Monaco, having made four appearances without scoring before today. 

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

Photo Credit: asmonaco.com 

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