English left-back Ross Sykes was on the scoresheet for Belgian side Union St.-Gilloise as they took on Atlético Madrid on Tuesday night.
Currently top of their domestic league, Union find themselves in the Champions League by dint of winning the Belgian Pro League last year.
There are two Englishmen at the heart of the Belgian champions' defence: Sykes lining out at left-back alongside Christian Burgess in the middle.
Both men have risen up from the English Football League to win silverware in Belgium. Now, they take on Europe's elite, with Inter, Bayern Munich and Newcastle also amongst Union's group stage opponents.
After Sykes notched his first European goal, one question remains: who is the former League One footballer finding the back of the net in the Champions League?
Sykes, 26, grew up in Burnley and came up through the ranks at his local club. He actually was a Newcastle fan as a child, though, making last month's Champions League defeat to Eddie Howe's a particularly special occasion.
Burnley released Sykes aged 11 due to concerns over his height. He is now 6ft 5in.
"I didn't want to keep going with academy football," Sykes said to the BBC. "But my mum and dad persuaded me to go on trial at Accrington Stanley one or two weeks later. I didn't look back after that."
He spent six years at Accrington, making 131 appearances for the club as they were promoted from League Two up to League One.
Sykes has 11 goals to his name during this time. In 2022, Union Saint-Gilloise came calling.
The club had just been narrowly beaten to the league title by Club Brugge. Had Union held on after leading the table for much of the season, only to lose out in the playoffs, they would have been the first newly-promoted team to win Belgium's top flight competition.
Upon moving to Belgium, Sykes linked up with Burgess who had already been at Union for two years.
The pair have made over 300 appearances between them for the club, winning the league last season to go with a successful cup run in 2024.
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This season sees Union compete in the group stages of the Champions League for the first time. They kicked off their campaign with a surprise 3-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven away from home.
Defeats to Newcastle and Inter followed (both 4-0) before Tuesday's trip to the Spanish capital to take on Atletico.
Trailing 2-0 in the 80th minute, a free-kick into the box was met by Sykes' powerful header at the back post.
Atletico avoided any late drama to wrap up a 3-1 win, but Sykes' moment completed a remarkable rise from English football's fourth tier to the world's premier club competition.
Union are currently 26th in the Champions League standings, level on points with Belgian rivals Club Brugge who occupy the last qualification spot for the knockout rounds.
Several big European names remain on Union's schedule. Galatasaray, Marseille and Bayern Munich stand between Sykes and co continuing their already unlikely journey into a memorable knockout run.
