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Jadon Sancho played an integral part in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 win away from home against Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The Englishman has had a tough spell in Germany after originally picking up two assists in his opening two matches in the Bundesliga.
The player has struggled to have the impact he did in his first spell at the club and has been largely ineffective as Dortmund have fallen 20 points behind leaders, Bayer Leverkusen.
But against Werder, after another 39 minutes of frustration, where he was careless with possession and was seen throwing his hands up in the air in disgust with his performance, he finally got the moment he was waiting for.
The Peoples Person has already covered the stunning goal he scored, where he ran at defenders, beat them for skill and pace and then dinked a delightful finish into the corner. It was like 2020 all over again.
The Athletic spoke to Dortmund fans after the match and one claimed, “in the years after he left, we also lost Bellingham (to Real Madrid) and (Erling) Haaland (to City), but everyone still talks about Sancho as the player they miss the most. Every time he got the ball, we thought he was going to score”.
Goals like this will certainly ease their pain.
Sancho was given a rating of 7.3 for his 74 minutes of action on Saturday.
The 23 year old scored from the one shot he had and had a pass completion accuracy of 79%.
However, the theme of giving the ball away was present throughout the game as he lost the ball 12 times and only completed two out of his five dribble attempts.
The winger was needed to get through some defensive work as his former teammate at United, Marcel Sabitzer was sent off in first half stoppage time with Dortmund leading 0-2. Bremen would bag a consolation in the 70th minute but die Schwarzgelben would hold on for the win.
Sancho won three out of his six ground duels, making one clearance and a tackle.
However, this could be a catalyst match for the attacker even if it was littered with imperfections. He drove forward with the ball and played clever passes, showing the talent that he undoubtedly possesses, but could not show on a regular basis at Manchester United.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic is certain that the German side will get Sancho back to his best and he has already blamed the Red Devils for the players initial problems adapting back to life in the Bundesliga.
As is always the case with the Englishman, he will need to prove it on a regular basis, as he once did in the yellow of the Signal Iduna Park outfit.
Sancho himself described the move back to Dortmund as “like coming home”, so if he can be consistent anywhere, it should really be in the north-west of Germany.
He will certainly not have to wait long to prove it when his side take on PSV Eindhoven in a crucial second leg clash which is finely balanced at 1-1. Playing a key role in his side’s progress to the quarter finals of the Champions League would certainly do wonders for the player’s dented confidence.
