Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 3y

Borussia Dortmund's Moukoko becomes Bundesliga's youngest starter

Youssoufa Moukoko has set another record. At 16 years and 25 days, the Borussia Dortmund striker has become the youngest ever player to start in a Bundesliga match.

Following four appearances as a substitute under former BVB coach Lucien Favre, Moukoko was handed his first start in a 2-1 win at Werder Bremen on Tuesday by Edin Terzic, who took over from Favre on Sunday.

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"He's not with us because he's 16, but because he's good," Terzic told Sky Germany in a pre-match interview.

Moukoko has broken a 15-year-old record set by former BVB, Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Nuri Sahin, who made his starting formation debut for Dortmund on Aug. 5, 2005 at the age of 16 years, 11 months and 1 day.

The Dortmund attacker, who came close to scoring twice against Bremen, still has over a year left to become the Bundesliga's youngest goalscorer ever. The current record was set by Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz earlier this year when he scored in 4-2 defeat to Bayern Munich at the age of 17 years and 34 days in June.

Following 141 goals in just 88 matches for Dortmund's Under-17 and Under-19 in recent seasons, Moukoko became the youngest player to ever feature in Bundesliga in late November one day after his 16th birthday.

That day, his Norwegian teammate Erling Haaland told ESPN: "He's the biggest talent in the world right now. He's got a big career ahead of him. I am over 20 years, I am getting old now. That's how it is."

Brought on for Haaland in a 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin for his Bundesliga debut, Moukoko has since also broken the record for the youngest-ever player in a Champions League match.

At 16 years and 18 days, he broke a 26-year-old record previously held by Celestine Babayaro. The former Nigeria international made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16 years and 86 days in November 1994.

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