Reyna becomes youngest American to start in Champions League originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Just over a week after Gio Reyna came off the bench for Dortmund and made an instant impact with a beautifully timed assist, the American teenager proved he was too good to start on the bench this time around.
At 17 years and 350 days old, Reyna became the youngest American to ever start in the UEFA Champions League in Dortmund's 2-0 group stage win against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday, breaking Christian Pulisic's record set for the same club in 2016 by just 12 days.
Reyna wasn't the only American to mark a first, as Sergiño Dest became the first-ever U.S. men's national team member to feature for Barcelona in the Champions League, just days after becoming the first American to play in El Clásico against Real Madrid on Saturday.
Weston McKennie was another American to feature in a jam-packed Champions League Wednesday slate. Against Dest and Barcelona, McKennie subbed on halfway through the second half in Juventus' 2-0 loss to the Catalans. Unfortunately for another fellow American, Tyler Adams remained unused in Leipzig's 5-0 loss to Manchester United.
Oh yeah, and Pulisic set up a goal and scored his own in Chelsea's win as a super-sub off the bench. National team manager Gregg Berhalter is looking like he has a wealth of talent on his hands -- the sort of wealth that won't allow a failed qualifying campaign for the World Cup this time around.
