The 17-year-old Bayer forward has become the youngest Ukrainian in Champions League history.

Although Stepanov couldn't make a significant impact in his very first match, he managed to set three records with his debut. The Ukrainian made his Champions League debut at the age of 17 years, 3 months, and 16 days, breaking the previous record held by Dmytro Chyhrynskiy, who debuted at 18 years and 1 month while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona.

2024-11-27 10:36:16https://zaxid.net/17_richniy_forvard_bayyera_stav_naymolodshim_ukrayintsem_v_istoriyi_ligi_chempioniv_n1598627

The German club Bayer Leverkusen dominated the Austrian team Salzburg with a score of 5:0 in the 5th round of the Champions League. In the 73rd minute of the match, 17-year-old Ukrainian forward Artem Stepanov made his debut for Leverkusen, replacing Patrick Schick. This was the first time our compatriot was included in the Bayer senior team roster, which occurred last week during the Bundesliga match against Heidenheim (5:2), although he did not step onto the field.

Although Stepanov did not manage to score in his first match, he set three records with his debut. The Ukrainian made his Champions League debut at the age of 17 years, 3 months, and 16 days, breaking the record previously held by Dmytro Chyhrynskyi – the former defender of Shakhtar and Barcelona achieved this at the age of 18 years and 1 month.

Moreover, Stepanov set a new record as the youngest Ukrainian legionnaire in the Champions League. Before him, this achievement belonged to Oleksandr Zinchenko, who debuted in the prestigious European tournament with PSV at the age of 19 years, 10 months, and 4 days.

Additionally, Artem surpassed Kai Havertz's record, becoming the youngest Bayer player in the Champions League. The German forward, who currently plays for London’s Arsenal, made his Champions League debut for Bayer at the age of 17 years, 4 months, and 22 days.

Top 5 youngest Ukrainian footballers in Champions League history:

Artem Stepanov (Bayer) – 17 years, 3 months, and 16 days (November 26, 2024)
Dmytro Chyhrynskyi (Shakhtar) – 18 years, 1 month (December 7, 2004)
Ilya Zabarnyi (Dynamo) – 18 years, 1 month, and 18 days (October 20, 2020)
Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar) – 18 years, 1 month, and 19 days (October 21, 2020)
Andriy Shevchenko (Dynamo) – 18 years, 1 month, and 25 days (November 23, 1994)

It is worth noting that Stepanov is a product of Shakhtar's academy and was also part of Volyn’s system. After the onset of the full-scale war, he left Donetsk and moved to Europe. In the summer of 2022, Artem joined Bayer. He plays for the U-19 team and is the top scorer in the championship with 10 goals.