MUNICH (AP) – 17-year-old Lennart Karl was handed his first Champions League start and made the most of it.
Within five minutes of kick-off against Club Brugge on Wednesday, Karl became Bayern’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League, breaking the record set by Jamal Musiala.
Karl picked up a pass from Jonathan Tarr in midfield, darted past defender Brandon Mekele to the edge of the Brugge box, deflected with his left foot and fired a shot past goalkeeper Nordin Jackers.
Karl celebrated by sprinting into the corner and knee-sliding, but Bayern striker Harry Kane and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic ran over to hug their young team-mate. When Karl was substituted in the 69th minute, the Munich crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Karl’s goal put Bayern on track for a 4-0 victory, with two other breakthrough goals. Kane tapped in Conrad Reimer’s cross to score his 20th goal in all competitions, before Luis Diaz scored for Bayern in the Champions League for the first time since joining from Liverpool. In the 79th minute, Nicholas Jackson scored a rebound to make it 4-0.
Bayern became one of five teams to win all three games so far in the league stage.
At 17 years and 242 days old, Karl has surpassed the record set by Musiala four years ago when he scored against Lazio in the Round of 16 by 121 days, UEFA announced.
Karl is wearing the same number 42 that Musiala wore in that game.
This was Karl’s first goal for the top club, and in his 10th game in all competitions for Bayern. He made his Club World Cup debut in June in a 10–0 victory over Auckland City.
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