Batrakov's Brace in Champions League Helps Galatasaray Beat Stuttgart
Russian footballer Aleksey Batrakov, 21, scored twice for Turkey's Galatasaray in a Champions League match against Germany's Stuttgart, securing a 2–0 win. He is the first Russian in 11 years to score two goals in a single match of the tournament.
In a football Champions League match, Europe's top club competition, Galatasaray of Turkey beat Germany's Stuttgart 2–0 thanks to two goals from forward Aleksey Batrakov. The 21-year-old Russian scored in the 12th and 15th minutes.
Batrakov became the first Russian player since 2015 to score twice in a single Champions League match. The last to do so was striker Artem Dzyuba, who scored against France's Lyon while playing for Zenit St. Petersburg.
Goals in three consecutive matches
Batrakov has now scored in three Champions League matches in a row. He previously found the net in a 4–1 loss to Barcelona and a 4–2 win over Lille. Before him, Dzyuba in 2015 was also the last Russian to achieve this.
The Russian website Sports.ru reports that Batrakov's brace is the fastest by a Russian or a Galatasaray player in the Champions League. He is also the second-youngest player to score twice within the first 15 minutes of a match in the competition. Only Real Madrid's Rodrygo was younger, doing so at 18 in 2019.
First Champions League season
Batrakov joined Galatasaray this summer. In his first Champions League season, he is now considered one of the tournament's leading scorers.
Russian clubs have not played in the Champions League since 2022, when they were barred from UEFA competitions because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The ban does not apply to Russian players at European clubs.
