Demba Ba becomes second oldest African Champions League goalscorer

Istanbul Basaksehir striker Demba Ba has become the second oldest African player to score a UEFA Champions League goal with his strike in their 2-1 win over Manchester United.

The former Chelsea and Newcastle United forward opened the scoring at the Fatih Terim Stadium on Wednesday evening in the 12th minute with his maiden strike of the season.

At the age of 35 years and 163 days, the Senegal international ranks behind Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, who scored his last Champions League goal in November 2014 at the age of 36 years and 259 days.

Edin Visca, who assisted Ba’s opener, found the back of the net in the 40th minute to give the hosts a two-goal lead but Anthony Martial immediately responded to reduce the deficit for Manchester United 137 seconds later.

After the restart, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men could not find the equaliser as Istanbul Basaksehir held on to the first-half lead to secure their first win in the elite European competition this season.

Wednesday’s game was Ba’s first start in the Champions League since August 2014, and he was on parade for 80 minutes before he was replaced by Fredrik Gulbrandsen.