Last night, Jadon Sancho became the first Manchester United player to reach a Champions League final since 2011.
The 24-year-old started for Borussia Dortmund and featured for 67 minutes as they defied the odds and knocked out state-owned Paris Saint-Germain on their own turf.
Last week’s 1-0 lead was extended by veteran Mats Hummels with a bullet header in the 50th minute, making it 2-0 on aggregate with 40 minutes left to play.
Remarkably, PSG hit the woodwork six times across both legs, with their mega-money frontline consisting of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos proving unable to find a way past Gregor Kobel and Dortmund’s resilient defence.
Sancho’s final game of his half-season loan spell will now be the final at Wembley on June 1, after which a decision will need to be made over his future and whether that lies at Old Trafford, Signal Iduna Park or elsewhere.
He impressed with his showings across the 180 minutes, particularly in the first leg, when he became the first-ever Englishman to record 11+ take-ons in a single UCL match.
For United fans watching, such performances would have been unrecognisable from their loanee. Sancho lit up the pitch in a way that resembled his first Dortmund spell which, of course, led to the Red Devils being so adamant about acquiring his signature before forking out £73 million for it.
Sancho refinds form away from Premier League
The CBS Sports panel attempted to analyse post-match why the winger is able to excel in Germany after falling so flat in England.
“He was brilliant wasn’t he? Fantastic,” Jamie Carragher began. “He’s not Dortmund’s player, he’s Manchester United’s player, so United fans will be watching this game thinking, ‘We want that player, where’s that player? We haven’t seen that player for two years.’
“But that is the player that they bought. Moving clubs, sometimes it’s just the kit, the feeling, the stadium, the confidence that you’ve got… it doesn’t feel the right fit at Manchester United. And that’s not just for him, that’s for a lot of players. At certain clubs, you just feel more yourself.”
Thierry Henry had his say on the matter, adding: “It’s not easy sometimes. The shirt can be heavy, the expectation, the price tag, [and] languages.
“Getting used to the town, getting used to something different. You know people at times underestimate all those points.”
