Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Aden McCarthy announced himself on Europe’s biggest stage on Tuesday night, bagging his first UEFA Champions League goal against German giants Borussia Dortmund.

Despite McCarthy’s historic moment, Sabah fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat in their League Phase clash in Baku.

Dortmund drew first blood early on when Guinea international Serhou Guirassy poked home a close-range finish in the 10th minute.

Sabah thought they had restored parity on 29 minutes through Joy-Lance Mickels, but the striker was flagged for offside after a VAR check.

The hosts did not have to wait much longer for their equaliser, though. Five minutes before half-time, Tymoteusz Puchacz whipped in an inviting delivery, and McCarthy rose brilliantly to glance his header past Gregor Kobel and open his Champions League account.

From Mzansi to the UEFA Champions League 🤩🇿🇦

Aden McCarthy scores his first goal in Europe’s big leagues 👏🔥

📺 Stream #UCL on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc https://t.co/nxKhJh3VNl

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) October 20, 2026

However, the Bundesliga outfit’s quality told eight minutes after the restart, with Guirassy volleying home his second of the night off a Joey Veerman cross to seal all three points for Dortmund.

McCarthy played the full 90 minutes at centre-back in what was his third consecutive start in the competition following his off-season move from Naturena.

Since joining Sabah at the beginning of the season, the son of Kaizer Chiefs legend Fabian McCarthy has made 10 appearances for his new side.

At Naturena, he made a total of 30 appearances for the Glamour Boys before sealing his dream move to Europe.

Featured image: Gallo Images/PS Images/MB Media

Originally published by Soccermag.