Artem’s age on the day of the match was 17 years, 3 months and 16 days
Ukrainian striker Bayera Artem Stepanov became the most young Ukrainianwho played in Champions League.
Yesterday, the forward appeared in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage against Salzburg (5:0) in the 73rd minute. On the day of the match, the player’s age was 17 years, 3 months and 16 days.
Thus, Stepanov set a new record among Ukrainian football players. Previously, this achievement belonged to Dmitry Chigrinsky, who made his debut in the Champions League at the age of 18 years and 1 month.
This is not Stepanov’s only record in the reporting game. In addition to the fact that Artem played his debut match for Bayer, he also became the most a young Ukrainian among legionnaires (surpassed Alexander Zinchenko, who made his debut for PSV at the age of 19 years and 10 months), and also became the most Bayer’s youth player in the Champions League (surpassed Kai Havertz, who played at the age of 17 years and 4 months).
Artem is a Shakhtar graduate who moved to the Leverkusen club in the summer of 2022. In January 2024, his contract was extended until the summer of 2027. Last season Artem played for Bayer U-17. Since this summer, the Ukrainian has already been tearing apart his division as part of the U-19 team – 16 matches, 11 goals, four assists.
At the end of August, Stepanov was included in the first team of Bayer for the first time – in a cup match against Carl Zeiss (1:0). Several times the Ukrainian found himself on the bench in Bundesliga matches, but Artem has not yet appeared on the field in the championship.
Bayer is in fifth place in the overall Champions League standings with 10 points. In the next round of the Champions League, Xabi Alonso’s team will host Inter: the match is scheduled for December 10.
Francis Onyeka. Artem Stepanov.
Both 17. @ChampionsLeague debuts 😮💨🖤❤️
86′ | 5-0 | #B04SAL #UCL pic.twitter.com/ylOl8vGihd
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) November 26, 2024
Source: Sportarena
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
