Kelechi Iheanacho: Five things you didn't know about Manchester City's teenage hero

Who is the 18-year-old?

Kelechi Iheanacho scored his first senior goal (Getty Images)

Kelechi Iheanacho took a matter of seconds to make a potentially significant contribution to this season's Barclays Premier League title race on Saturday.

The 18-year-old Nigerian fired Manchester City's late winner over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to take Manuel Pellegrini's men a massive 11 points clear of defending champions Chelsea.

But who is the man who has managed to make his mark in the top flight so quickly?

1. Iheanacho scored six goals in Nigeria's successful FIFA Under-17 World Cup campaign in Abu Dhabi in 2013, and won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament.

2. Born in Nigeria, Iheanacho joined City last season and after work permit issues were resolved he starred in the club's elite development squad.

3. Promoted to City's first team squad in the summer, Iheanacho wasted no time making an impression, scoring twice on the US tour including a goal in the 5-1 win over Milan in Pittsburgh.

4. Iheanacho made his brief Premier League debut when he replaced Raheem Sterling in the 89th minute of City's 2-0 win over Watford at the Etihad Stadium at the end of August.

5. There will be no repeat of Iheanacho's heroics against Juventus on Tuesday. He has been left out of City's Uefa Champions League squad as it already includes the maximum 17 foreign players.

PA