Rayan Cherki becomes youngest to play in Champions League knockout round
Aug 20, 2020
Lisbon [Portugal], August 20 : Lyon striker Rayan Cherki became the youngest player to ever take part in a Champions League knockout-round match after coming on as a substitute against Bayern Munich on Thursday.
With his team trailing 2-0 in their semi-final encounter, Cherki came off the bench in the 73rd minute in place of defender Fernando Marcal as the Ligue 1 side chased the game.
It was still a history-making cameo for Cherki, who only turned 17 on Monday. The teenager is only the fourth 17-year-old to appear in a Champions League semi-final after Bojan, David Alaba and Julian Draxler, Goal.com reported.
Previously, the youngest player to appear in a Champions League knockout-round match was Kenneth Zohore, who set the mark for FC Copenhagen in February 2011.
Lyon faced a 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich as Serge Gnabry scored a brace in the first half and Robert Lewandowski headed the third goal in the final minutes of the game.
Cherki made 12 senior appearances and scored three goals for Lyon's senior team in this season prior to Thursday's game.
On Tuesday, Paris Saint Germain had defeated RB Leipzig 3-0 in the first semi-final of the Champions League.
Bayern Munich will face Paris Saint-Germain in the finals of the tournament on Sunday, August 23.
