A 21-year-old soccer player in his first season at Turkish club Galatasaray becomes the first Russian in 11 years to score twice in a Champions League match

Galatasaray's young Russian striker Aleksey Batrakov made history on the Champions League stage as he became the first Russian player in 11 years to score twice in a single match. The 21-year-old found the back of the net in the 12th and 15th minutes of Galatasaray's 2-0 victory over German club Stuttgart. Batrakov's brace set a new record for the fastest brace by a Russian or Galatasaray player in the Champions League, with Sports.ru reporting that he scored faster than any other player in the competition's history.

At just 21 years old, Batrakov joins a select group of young players who have achieved this feat within the first 15 minutes of a Champions League match. His first-ever Champions League goal came against Barcelona, and his second came in a 4-2 win over Lille. The Russian government's ban on Russian clubs from European competitions due to its invasion of Ukraine ended in 2022, but Russian players are still allowed to participate with European clubs.