Against Real Madrid, the 66-goal striker repeats a feat after 22 years

Antoine Semenyo was given the opportunity to debut in the Champions League wearing Manchester City's colors in the match against Real Madrid early on March 12 (Vietnam time).

According to Sportbible, the Ghanaian striker accomplished something that only one other player in the entire history of football has achieved, after making his debut in the most prestigious club-level European arena.

Coach Pep Guardiola decided to start Semenyo alongside January newcomer Marc Guehi from the beginning in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Manchester City and Real Madrid. Notably, this is the 15th time Man City has faced Real Madrid in the Champions League, and the second meeting between the two teams this season, after The Citizens secured a 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nevertheless, this is Semenyo's first appearance in the Champions League. The striker has scored 7 goals across all competitions for Man City since joining the club for a fee of £62 million from Bournemouth. Semenyo could not participate in the league phase of the tournament, but was given the chance to start directly against the 15-time European champions.

Participating in the most prestigious club-level European competition helps Semenyo become the second player in history to have played in all 4 tiers of English football, the Non-League level, and also the Champions League.

Semenyo started his career at Bristol City in the Championship and had a period playing in Non-League with Bath City. Subsequently, he was loaned successively to Newport County in League Two and Sunderland in League One, before becoming a Premier League player upon joining Bournemouth.

Who is the first player to achieve this milestone?

The first person to accomplish something similar was former Liverpool player Steve Finnan. The Irish defender reached this milestone in the very season Liverpool won the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005.

Finnan began his career at Welling United, a club outside the Football League system, after being released by Wimbledon. He made his Champions League debut in the qualifying round against Austria's Grazer AK in 2004.

During his career in England, Finnan also wore the shirts of Birmingham City, Notts County, Fulham, and Portsmouth, before having a stint playing in Spain with Espanyol. However, Finnan still edges out Semenyo in one aspect by having participated in the 2002 World Cup in the colors of the Republic of Ireland national team.

Semenyo could equal that achievement if he is called up to the Ghana national team to participate in this summer's World Cup as predicted. "The Black Stars" are in Group L alongside England, Croatia, and Panama.

When signing with Man City, Semenyo shared that his dream was to play in the Champions League and hear the familiar anthem of the tournament when stepping onto the field. Semenyo told the club's official website: "From a young age, you always dream of playing in the Champions League. I thank God for this opportunity. Hopefully we can advance to the next round. Just hearing the Champions League anthem when walking onto the field alone is a dream come true."