Bernardo Silva makes Real Madrid history with Champions League opener against Leipzig

Bernardo Silva scored his first goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League as they beat Leipzig 4-1 on Wednesday, setting a new age record for a foreign player to open his European account for the club.

The Portuguese international was 32 years and 72 days old when he converted a rebound inside the penalty area to give Real Madrid the lead in their third match of the league phase.

According to Opta, Silva surpassed the previous record held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was 30 years and 87 days old when he scored his first Champions League goal for Real Madrid against Dynamo Kyiv in September 2006.

The goal also placed Silva in a select group of players who have scored for Real Madrid in the Champions League after previously finding the net against the Spanish club in the competition while representing another side.

He is the sixth player to achieve that feat.

The group includes Van Nistelrooy, who scored against Real Madrid during his time with Manchester United, and David Beckham, who also did so while playing for the English club.

Alvaro Morata scored against Real Madrid for Juventus, while Kylian Mbappe found the net against them as a Paris Saint-Germain player. Antonio Rudiger completed the original list after scoring against Real Madrid during his spell with Chelsea.

Silva had previously scored against Real Madrid in the Champions League while playing for Manchester City before joining the club’s list of scorers.

His strike against Leipzig was therefore significant both for its timing and for the unusual sequence behind it. It marked Silva’s first goal for Real Madrid in the competition and made him the oldest foreign player to do so, while also making him the latest member of a rare six-player group.

The 4-1 victory gave Real Madrid a strong result in their third league-phase fixture, with Silva’s early goal providing the platform for the team’s win.

Opta recorded the age milestone, while Spanish football statistician MisterChip highlighted Silva’s place alongside Van Nistelrooy, Beckham, Morata, Mbappe and Rudiger.

Silva’s achievement follows a pattern previously seen with some of the most recognisable names in European football. Van Nistelrooy and Beckham had both represented Manchester United before later scoring for Real Madrid in the Champions League, while Morata, Mbappe and Rudiger followed the same path after scoring against the club for Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea respectively.

The goal against Leipzig means Silva can now be included among those players whose Champions League history features goals both against and for Real Madrid.