Reigan Heskey was in class at school on Monday when he got the call that he would be playing for Manchester City under-19s in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday.

Reigan, 15, is the son of former Liverpool and England striker Emile, who was in the stands at the Joie Stadium to see two of his children line up for City for the first time. Older brother Jaden, 17, has stepped up for the academy this season, and led the line against Young Boys with Reigan on the wing.

"I've never played with him before so it was the first time," Jaden told MEN Sport after the 3-0 win with a smile. "He's always been two years below me so he's stayed with his age group. For him to play with me today was surreal."

ALSO READ: Emile Heskey's two sons combine to put Man City on cusp of Youth League progress

ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Young Boys as John Stones and Erling Haaland star

Jaden has five goals to his name so far this season between under-18 and under-21 level, while Reigan had never played above under-16s until this week. With injury and fitness issues restricting Brian Barry-Murphy's selection against Young Boys, it was Reigan who got the call to take his chance at the Joie Stadium.

Within eight minutes Reigan had won a penalty - which he stepped up to score - and by halftime, he had won a free-kick that Mo Susoho converted from a tight angle, and played Tom Galvez into the box to assist Matthew Henderson-Hall. In first-half injury time, he went down with cramp, and wouldn't emerge for the second period.

As debuts go, it wasn't a bad first 45 minutes for the youth team, and Barry-Murphy explained why it was Heskey who was selected to step up from the under-16s.

"We're synonymous with players in those wide positions that at this club have to be able to beat players one-vs-one and create situations you can win the game from," he said. "Reigan's got all those qualities every single game I've seen him. There's other parts of his game he naturally has to work on.

"You saw a glimpse of what he can do first half when he beat the player, direct against his opponent one-vs-one, and produced an assist and was dangerous for the penalty. He's a highly talented player - who obviously has a lot of things to work on - but it was good to see him play so well in his first game."

It was a squad effort to ensure that the youngster's debut was as comfortable as possible. Defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey insisted that the younger Heskey brother took the penalty that he won, with Barry-Murphy keen to take the pressure of older brother Jaden by tasking Galvez and Kane Taylor with supporting Reigan within the game and also in the dressing room.

"I was conscious of the fact it wasn't Jaden's responsibility to look after Reigan," the coach said. "Reigan is a high-level player and Jaden's still finding his way at this level himself."

Despite that, Jaden says he made sure he was there to help his brother in his first appearance at this level. He said: "I wanted to help him during the game and before the game, I had to give him the encouragement. He dealt with it well.

"He was at school when he was told he would be playing. That was a fluster of emotions for him. He went off with cramp at half-time, but that's because the intensity is so high compared to the under-16s. He did well."

With both parents in the stands as the brothers lined up together, dad Emile got his phone out to record Reigan's penalty for future posterity, but Jaden says the former England man took the decision not to give either of his sons too much advice pre-match when the family knew both would be involved.

"He stayed a bit quiet, he didn't want to put too much pressure on," Jaden said. "But my mum and dad were both really proud."

As two Heskey's look to make their name at City, there will naturally be increased interest in the brothers due to their famous dad - and Barry-Murphy says the best way to help them deal with that is simple.

"They have to be treated as individuals. Jaden has me in his ear all the time demanding certain things so he doesn't have time to think about what Reigan's doing," he explained.

"I think it was such a quick thing - Reigan came in from school, so there wasn't a lot of planning in place. He just had to come in and do his thing. It's an unusual dynamic but it's important we treat them as individuals and they can play their own games. It's unusual for brothers to play together but I'm sure it will happen again."