The Manchester United loanee reminded the world just how brilliant he can be as BVB pulled off a huge win against Paris Saint-Germain
Jadon Sancho, where have you been for the last two-and-a-half years?! That's the question most fans are asking in the wake of his sensational performance for Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
He tormented the Paris Saint-Germain backline from the first minute to the last, playing with total abandon, just like he used to on a consistent basis before his £73 million (£92m) move to Manchester United in 2021. Dortmund won the game 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Niclas Fullkrug, but should really be holding a bigger aggregate advantage after squandering all the chances Sancho created with his wizardry down the right flank.
Dortmund's social media account were quick to highlight Sancho's impact after the final whistle, writing on X: "You all owe him an apology, we were ALWAYS familiar with his game." The German club added in a separate post: "Can’t get over how STUPENDOUS Jadon was tonight."
A lot of people had written off Sancho before Wednesday night, this writer included, and he does deserve an apology. To perform at such a high level on the grandest of stages proves that Sancho is far from finished.
GettyGetting his 'swagger' back
Sancho completed 12 dribbles against PSG, the most by any player in a single Champions League game this season. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi was the last man to record more in the semi-finals of the competition way back in 2008 (16), and no other English player has managed over 11.
There is only one Messi, but Sancho was equally as scintillating on the ball as the prime version of the Argentine maestro. The atmosphere in the 81,000-capacity Signal Iduna Park was electric whenever Sancho picked up the ball, and PSG left-back Nuno Mendes will be left with recurring nightmares after being turned inside out time and time again.
"Jadon was making players dance, he was a joke," Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand said on . "We haven’t seen that since he was at Dortmund before. What I say today more than anything, that was cage football Sancho. This is the kid who grew up in cage football with that bit of swagger."
That "swagger" made Sancho the most sought after players in European football, but he lost it at United, and Dortmund fans had only seen glimpses of his unique talent after his return to the club on loan in the winter transfer window. This devilishly daring display really came out of the blue, and will rightly change how he is perceived heading into the summer transfer window.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL'Out-performed the best player in the world'
Most of the pre-match talk centered around Kylian Mbappe, who is aiming to deliver a long-awaited European Cup to PSG as the perfect parting gift before his contract expires. Mbappe scored a brace to sink Barcelona in the quarter-finals, and he could yet meet his potential suitors Real Madrid in the showpiece event.
Mbappe is the ultimate big-game player, with an outstanding record at both club and international level, but he was completely upstaged by Sancho in Germany. Dortmund's resurgent No.10 had 99 touches compared to Mbappe's 52, and although the PSG star was unlucky to hit the post with a well-struck side-footed shot early in the second half, he cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the match.
Sancho was far more positive and imaginative on the ball, setting up three big opportunities for his team-mates. The best one came after he got away from Mendes with a clever drop of the shoulder before cutting the ball back for Fullkrug, who blazed over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Julian Brandt and Marco Reus were also guilty of wasteful finishing as Sancho was cruelly denied at least one assist to cap an awe-inspiring night of work. "He outplayed every player on the pitch and there are world-class players," Owen Hargreaves said while sitting alongside his former United team-mate Ferdinand in the TNT studio. "He out-performed the best player in the world, Kylian Mbappe. He looked fitter, and sharper and more confident."
This was the version of Sancho that has the potential to reach the same heights as the leading lights of this generation like Mbappe, Jude Belllingham and Jamal Musiala. He put on a show that will live long in the memory, but now has to make sure it wasn't just a one-off.
Getty ImagesInhibitions lifted
"I could tell from his first few touches that he was confident. His body language suggested he believes," Hargreaves added. "There was a bit of arrogance. At United he didn’t commit people, but Jadon answered a lot of questions."
Sancho never looked like he believed in himself at Old Trafford, and still seemed to be devoid of confidence in his first four months back at Dortmund. He has scored three brilliant goals, including a long-range effort against PSV in the Champions League last 16, but more often than not has opted for the safe option in possession.
Something was holding him back, and it was a huge surprise to see those inhibitions lifted in a game of this magnitude – the kind he often went missing in for United. "He's shown that really often in training," Dortmund boss Edin Terzic said after the victory over PSG. "It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while. We know his quality and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Erik ten Hag only used Sancho in three games before exiling him from the United squad at the start of the season, but a lack of match sharpness has not been his main problem. Sancho was a broken man in Manchester, and he's still in the process of rebuilding his damaged psyche.
GettyDealing with inner demons
Sancho admitted rejoining Dortmund "feels like coming home" after making his second debut for the Bundesliga giants in January, which felt like a clear dig at United – and more specifically Ten Hag. He was given the benefit of the doubt after a dismal first season at Old Trafford, but his real problems started after the Dutchman's appointment as manager in May 2022.
Ten Hag has accused Sancho of failing to live up to the club's standards on a number of occasions, and their relationship now looks to be beyond repair. Questions were also asked of Sancho's professionalism in his first spell at Dortmund, but he got away with it because he was so decisive during matches.
So what has gone so wrong in Manchester? Is it purely down to opposing values between player and coach, or has Sancho been dealing with inner demons away from the pitch?
Arsenal and France icon Thierry Henry believes it's the latter, and he was delighted to see the young winger finally rediscover his spark to help sink PSG. "We all know that he struggled mentally at Manchester United. The power of the brain and how you can be as a professional… when you’re not well here [in the mind], or at home, or whatever it is, you cannot perform. I don’t care where you are or who you are or the talent that you have," he said on .
"You can see that things are a bit better up there, whatever the struggle was with him, because to do what he did tonight… I think at Manchester United he played 48 games and only dribbled past a player seven times. He did that in the first 10 minutes tonight. All I can say is: don’t underestimate that. Mental health is not an easy thing to deal with and you can see that when someone is well up there then they can perform, so well done, big man."