Paris Saint-Germain fell to Borussia Dortmund at the BVB Stadium on Wednesday in the second UEFA Champions League semifinal of the 2023/24 season and Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho was behind it.
The 24-year-old is rediscovering himself at Dortmund, where he completed his development into a professional footballer with top-flight experience before signing for Manchester United for £85 million in 2021.
A horrendous stint, both for his personal and career development followed at Old Trafford and both parties agreed to send him back to Dortmund on loan for the rest of the 2023/24 season. He is now looking like the £85 million player that the Red Devils signed, which has come as no surprise to Die Schwarzengelben.
Sancho has popped up with great performances – alongside forgettable and average ones – for the Yellow and Blacks in all the competitions where they remain. He is also enjoying himself again, which means he is finally finding peace. The topic of Manchester United has been brought up with him a few times and he has dismissed all attempts to have that discussion, instead choosing to focus on how he continues his development at the BVB Stadium.
The same question was also asked after his stellar display down the right for Dortmund in their 1 – 0 semifinal first leg win over PSG. “I just take it game by game and I hope [my form] carries on,” Sancho told CBS Sports. “I came here at 17 and they gave me the opportunity to play my professional football. I am delighted with all the staff and players that have welcomed me back.
“I really don’t know [if I am going to stay]. I am just focused on the present right now.”
The player’s talent, ability and interaction with the fans have come as no surprise to Borussia Dortmund coaches led by Edin Terzić, who has now taken Dortmund to their first Champions League semis since 2013 and is on the verge of taking them to the final.
Speaking after the Manchester City and Watford academy player’s performance against PSG, Terzić said: “He’s shown that really often in training. 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.”
Then speaking generally about the win, Terzić said: “We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today.
“This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won’t be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd.”
