Hazard on Dortmund record breaker Bellingham: “He plays like a man!”

Both players got on the scoresheet in BVB's 5-0 DFB Cup win at third-tier MSV Duisburg on Monday, but it was Bellingham who grabbed the headlines after his record-breaking competitive debut.

By getting Dortmund’s second goal of the game, the summer signing - at the age of 17 years and 77 days - broke a record set by Nuri Sahin in November 2005.  

"He is only 17, but he plays like a man," Belgian attacker Hazard said after the game.

"He is everywhere on the pitch, can score goals and defend. He is a very good player to keep the balance between attack and defence. He can help us a lot."

Bellingham has certainly laid down a marker ahead of Dortmund’s opening Bundesliga match of the 2020/21 season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday.

American youngster Gio Reyna had previously been Dortmund’s youngest ever goalscorer in the DFB Cup when he netted at 17 years and 83 days against Werder Bremen in February, while Sahin was aged 17 years and 82 days when he became BVB’s youngest goalscorer in the Bundesliga.

Bellingham beat both of those records, however, and was also part of another this week. The Duisburg game marked the first time that two 17-year-olds - Bellingham and Reyna - had started a competitive match for Dortmund.

Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre recently said that it was "easy" to work with a talent like Bellingham, and it is becoming clear why. The recent arrival from Birmingham City also scored in a pre-season friendly against Austria Vienna in August, so it seems that he is set to add significantly to Dortmund’s goal threat in 2020/21.

Bellingham was one of five different goalscorers against Duisburg, with his compatriot Jadon Sancho and Reyna the other youngsters to get on the scoresheet.

Bellingham registered four goals in his breakout season with Birmingham in the English second tier last season and - with 20-year-old Erling Haaland also in the ranks - Favre has an impressive array of young talent at his disposal.

"It's great to see the players we have in the team," Dortmund defender Emre Can said after the first-round success against Duisburg.  "We have a brilliant team with very, very young players up front. But they also put in hard work defensively - and that's important for us."

Bellingham also made history for England earlier this month when he came on against Kosovo to become the youngest player to feature for his country's U21 team. True to form, he also got on the scoresheet in that game too.