Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
“He’s enjoying being with his team-mates on and off the pitch and Jadon is a player that needs to smile,” coach Edin Terzić said after that PSV second leg. “If he’s smiling then he’s going to shine on the pitch.” That sentiment is echoed by Brandt, who like Reus, bridges Sancho’s two stints at the club. The Germany playmaker concedes that Sancho hasn’t quite rediscovered the incredible form that brought 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games between 2017/18 and 2020/21, turning him into an England regular, but has no doubt it will come. In the meantime, says Brandt, he still has plenty to offer – the kind of twinkle-toed direct running that can strike fear into any opponent. It brings “an entirely new dimension” for Dortmund.
Patience plus belief and a little love has equalled a nurturing environment. Sancho is evidently thriving. “Dortmund’s a special place for me,” he admits. “This is where I built my name and obviously Dortmund gave me the platform to express myself. When people – especially 80,000 people – are screaming your name, it’s kind of hard to believe. It just gives you a lot of confidence. I have a manager that believes in me. The team help me as well. Coming here, I have the belief in myself again. It feels nice.” Dortmund would second that.
Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
“He’s enjoying being with his team-mates on and off the pitch and Jadon is a player that needs to smile,” coach Edin Terzić said after that PSV second leg. “If he’s smiling then he’s going to shine on the pitch.” That sentiment is echoed by Brandt, who like Reus, bridges Sancho’s two stints at the club. The Germany playmaker concedes that Sancho hasn’t quite rediscovered the incredible form that brought 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games between 2017/18 and 2020/21, turning him into an England regular, but has no doubt it will come. In the meantime, says Brandt, he still has plenty to offer – the kind of twinkle-toed direct running that can strike fear into any opponent. It brings “an entirely new dimension” for Dortmund.
Patience plus belief and a little love has equalled a nurturing environment. Sancho is evidently thriving. “Dortmund’s a special place for me,” he admits. “This is where I built my name and obviously Dortmund gave me the platform to express myself. When people – especially 80,000 people – are screaming your name, it’s kind of hard to believe. It just gives you a lot of confidence. I have a manager that believes in me. The team help me as well. Coming here, I have the belief in myself again. It feels nice.” Dortmund would second that.
Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League game at the BVB Stadion Dortmund since 2020 was just three minutes old when the English winger collected a pass from Julian Brandt on the edge of the PSV Eindhoven area. He stopped the ball dead, quickly surveyed his options before pushing it out of his feet and dispatching a low shot through the legs of Guus Til and in via the base of the post. Unstoppable. Off he ran to the corner flag, jubilant team-mates in hot pursuit, as the Südtribüne’s famous Gelbe Wand waved its magic in the background. It was a goal that set Dortmund on course for the quarter-final. It was a goal that confirmed Sancho was back where he belonged. It was almost as if he had never been away.
“Going into that game everyone was just locked in,” says the 24-year-old. “Having what I’d class as a bad performance in the first leg on a personal level, feeling like I could have done more, going into that game I just felt I had to do what I had to do – score. I was happy the ball went in. Sharing that moment with the fans was so good.” It is a sensation Sancho rarely enjoyed during his two-and-a-half season spell at Manchester United, when he struggled to find his feet in a team forging a new identity. Brought back on loan in January to the club where he spent his formative years between 17 and 21, he immediately looked at home. He laid on an assist for Marco Reus within minutes of his first game back.
