Scott Carson shows up Gianluigi Donnarumma as Man City cameo breaks Champions League record

Scott Carson rolling back the years and setting a new record was wholesome and really funny to see.

They say legends are forged on Champions League nights, when Europe's finest go head-to-head under the lights to write new chapters in their club's histories and secure their status as legends.

Wednesday night was no different, an ageing fan-favourite putting smiles on the faces of his adoring fans. Karim Benzema scored a 17-minute hat-trick as Real Madrid overturned a 2-0 aggregate deficit to dump Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League.

However, I'm not talking about the French striker.

In the 73rd minute of Manchester City's goalless draw with Sporting Lisbon - an effective dead rubber after City won the first leg 5-0 - 36-year-old goalkeeper Scott Carson came off the bench to make his second appearance for the club.

In doing so he made history. It was Carson's second appearance in the Champions League, the first coming for Liverpool in April 2005. James McAtee was two years old back then. The gap between the two outings was 16 years and 338 days; no player has ever waited longer.

Meanwhile, over in Madrid, Gianluigi Donnarumma, nemesis of England and one of the highest-paid (and usually best) goalkeepers in the world, had committed a howler that allowed Benzema to start one of the unlikeliest of comebacks.

City were admittedly home and hosed by the time of Carson's introduction, but given Guardiola's ever-serious attitude and the presence of experience-hungry keeper Cieran Slicker on the bench, replacing Ederson with the veteran seemed an odd substitution to make.

That Guardiola allowed himself a good-humoured moment speaks volumes of the standing Carson has at the club; Pep clearly just wanted to do something kind for a player and man he values highly.

The unlikely relationship Carson has formed with number one Ederson is well documented, built not just on training ground advice but on humour and personality.

Carson repaid his manager's act of kindness in the best way possible. Moments after coming on he spread himself to block a one-on-one effort from Paulinho, hurting himself in the process. He was fine to continue, but the images of Ederson and Jack Grealish taking the mic out of their teammate from the bench emphasised his importance to team morale.

The 36-year-old is the changing room joker, one that Guardiola admits is important for team morale.

"We are delighted," he said of Carson's cameo. "Scott is very important for us behind the scenes. The chemistry with Eddie and Zack is fundamental in the dressing room. He made the biggest save. People listen when he speaks."

Perhaps he is a bit of a joke figure - evidenced by Grealish tweeting his photo with the caption '100% pass completion, 100% save completion' after the game - but it's all good-natured. There's no doubting that Carson is a valuable member of Guardiola's squad, and could stay beyond the June-end of his current contract.

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