Demba Ba has celebrated his conspicuous role in İstanbul Basaksehir’s 2-1 defeat of Manchester United in Wednesday’s Champions League showdown.
After a stuttering start in the European club competition – losing to RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, Okan Buruk’s men found their winning formula against the English top-flight outfit.
The former Chelsea and Newcastle United forward opened the scoring at the Fatih Terim Stadium in the 12th minute with his maiden strike of the season, before Edin Visca scored the all-important second goal in the 40th minute.
In the process, Ba who is 35 years and 163 days old became the second oldest African player to score a Champions League goal, trailing Chelsea and Cote d’Ivoire great Didier Drogba, who scored his last Champions League goal in November 2014 at the age of 36 years and 259 days.
35y 163d - Demba Ba is the second oldest African player to score a Champions League goal, behind only Didier Drogba, who was 36 years and 259 days old when he scored his final goal in November 2014. Unmarked. pic.twitter.com/mxyca6GMNZ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 4, 2020
Anthony Martial reduced the deficit for the former English kings in a goal-laden first-half, however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men were unable to launch a comeback in the second half.
Stimulated by his notable performance at the Old Trafford giants, Ba went on social media to revel in his man-of-the-match performance.
So grateful to still be able to perform and score in the biggest stage of football. And being voted @ChampionsLeague man of the match.. #Alhamdulillah #resilience pic.twitter.com/ml7rXSpZTO
— Demba Ba (@dembabafoot) November 5, 2020
“So grateful to still be able to perform and score in the biggest stage of football. And being voted Champions League man of the match,” the veteran tweeted.
Despite this result, Istanbul Basaksehir sit at the base of Group H having accrued three points from three games. They continue their campaign in the Turkish top-flight when Genclerbirligi visit on Sunday.
The reigning Turkish champions are seventh on the log after garnering 10 points from seven outings.