Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji made UEFA Champions League history on Wednesday by scoring on his debut in his club Sparta Prague’s resounding 3-0 win over FC Salzburg at epet ARENA in Prague, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 25-year-old striker scored his team’s second goal in the 42nd minute, becoming the third African to score and assist on their debut in Europe’s elite club competition after Gabon’s Daniel Cousin did in 2007 for Rangers vs. Lyon and Serge Aurier of Ivory Coast achieved the feat in 2015 for PSG against Shakhtat Donetsk.
After putting the team 2-0 up following Kasper Kairinen’s 2nd-minute opener, Olatunji assisted Qasim Laçi for their third goal on 58 as the hosts recorded a comprehensive win before over 17,000 home fans.
He made another history with Sparta Prague, which finally played a Champions League match at Letná after 19 years.
This result ended Sparta Prague’s long wait for a Champions League victory, their first since a 1-0 win over Lazio in December 2003. It also marked the first time they have ever opened the competition with a win, in what is their eighth appearance in the tournament proper.
“I feel good, I feel great and I’m very happy for myself because I worked hard to get to this point. I’m also happy for the team,” Olatunji told UEFA media after the match.
“We always play like a team – I really enjoyed it. For the third goal, I could have shot, but I wanted to give us a bigger chance (of scoring) because missing that chance would not have been good for the team.”
Born in Sokoto, Olatunji, who is playing his second season with Sparta Prague, has been playing his trade in Eastern Europe since 2019 when he joined Podbrezová from Inter Milan. He also donned the colours of AEK Larnaca, Liberec, Alki Oroklini, AEK Larnaca, and Mattersburg.
