{"id":6231,"date":"2024-05-01T22:41:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T22:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6231"},"modified":"2024-05-01T22:41:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T22:41:08","slug":"rio-ferdinand-asks-man-utd-question-after-jadon-sancho-masterclass-in-borussia-dortmunds-win-over-psg-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=6231","title":{"rendered":"Rio Ferdinand asks Man Utd question after Jadon Sancho masterclass in Borussia Dortmund’s win over PSG | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Borussia\n<\/div>

Jadon Sancho produced a superb performance in Dortmund\u2019s victory over PSG (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rio Ferdinand drooled over Jadon Sancho\u2019s \u2018joke\u2019 of a performance after Borussia Dortmund\u2019s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, asking why the forward has struggled to hit such heights at Manchester United.<\/p>\n

Sancho was the standout attacking player on the pitch in Wednesday\u2019s Champions League semi-final first leg at Signal Iduna Park, as Niclas Fullkrug scored the only goal of the game to put Dortmund in the driving seat ahead of their trip to Paris in a week\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

Fullkrug should perhaps have completed a brace after a scintillating piece of wing play from United loanee Sancho on the hour mark, but the Germany striker ballooned his effort over the bar from five yards out when it appeared easier to score.<\/p>\n

One particular stat stood out on the night, with Sancho becoming the first Englishman in the history of the Champions League to complete 11+ take-ons in a single game. Remarkably, the last player to complete more dribbles at the semi-final stage was a certain Lionel Messi versus Manchester United back in 2008.<\/p>\n

United supporters could be forgiven for thinking the Sancho in Dortmund\u2019s starting XI was a different player to the man they signed from the Bundesliga outfit or a fee of reported fee of around \u00a373million back in 2021.<\/p>\n

In between flashes of brilliance, Sancho has largely flattered to deceive in a United shirt and the out-of-sorts England international completed a loan move back to Dortmund in January in the hope of resurrecting his stuttering career.<\/p>\n

Sancho will have been desperate to prove a point heading into the eagerly anticipated first leg and he did just that, with the 24-year-old proving a constant thorn in the side for PSG and eclipsing Kylian Mbappe on the night.<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s shaking and baking top players here. He\u2019s putting people on the floor, he\u2019s making people dance,\u2019 legendary ex-United and England defender Ferdinand said in the TNT Sports studio shortly after the final whistle.<\/p>\n

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\"Jadon\n<\/div>

The England forward completed a loan move from United to Dortmund in January (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It was a joke what he did today and we haven\u2019t seen this, probably since he was at Dortmund before.<\/p>\n

\u2018He isn\u2019t just a dribbler, he isn\u2019t just somebody who runs and runs past people with pace. He\u2019s a footballer who wants to come in and play one-twos, be part of the game and the tempo of that game.<\/p>\n

\u2018What I saw today more than anything, which I haven\u2019t seen and have been waiting to see, and all Manchester United fans have been waiting to see, I saw cage-football Sancho today.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is the kid that grew up in cages, with that arrogance and that little bit of swagger. I\u2019ve been sitting here saying that it\u2019s there but we haven\u2019t seen it.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\n\"Rio\n<\/div>
Ferdinand was bowled over by Sancho\u2019s display (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ferdinand urged Sancho to \u2018lap up\u2019 the inevitable praise he will receive on the back of his exceptional display before pondering how the England attacker had fallen so far short of expectations at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s in a groove. Once someone gets in a groove, we\u2019ve seen it with different sportsmen in different sports, football, especially, when they\u2019re in the groove and the confidence is there, they churn these performances out,\u2019 Ferdinand added.<\/p>\n

\u2018He will come off this pitch with a high. He will see people going on about him on social media and love it and rightly so. Lap it up. <\/p>\n

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\n\"Jadon\n<\/div>
Sancho has struggled to live up to expectations at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I hate to go back to it but I want to know what happened at Manchester United. Why didn\u2019t it go well there?! <\/p>\n

\u2018Was it because he was disheartened, wasn\u2019t getting game-time, was it the size of the shirt, the weight of the shirt?<\/p>\n

\u2018Is it the manager\u2019s fault for not getting the best out of him? The physicality of the Premier League, was that an issue?<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s so many things you look at and think: what could it be? Only Jadon can tell us that, but at the same time, you look at the way he played in the Champions League semi-final \u2013 you can\u2019t devalue that.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\n\"Kylian\n<\/div>
Mbappe was some way from his best in the semi-final first leg (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Ferdinand, Sancho\u2019s value would have soared as a result of his showing versus PSG which is a big \u2018plus point\u2019 for United.<\/p>\n

\u2018What I would say for Jadon, for him and also Manchester United, there\u2019s a plus point tonight: the value has gone back up again because I think most teams were probably looking to loan him or nick him for very cheap,\u2019 he continued.<\/p>\n

\u2018But teams will be looking at that performance and going, \u201cIf I can get anywhere near that on a regular basis then I will have some of that!\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\n\"Owen\n<\/div>
Hargreaves felt Sancho showed Mbappe up in the first leg (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former United and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves was similarly impressed by Sancho\u2019s performance and felt the forward outplayed every single player on the pitch at a raucous Westfalenstadion.<\/p>\n

\u2018I could tell from his first few touches that he was confident and his body language suggested he believes,\u2019 Hargreaves said.<\/p>\n

\u2018He had a bit of arrogance about him. This is what makes a flair player really good.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Jadon\n<\/div>
A confident-looking Sancho cause PSG problems all night (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018At Manchester United we didn\u2019t really see him commit people, whether that was confidence or he wasn\u2019t as fit but Jadon just answered a lot of questions today. <\/p>\n

\u2018You might criticise that he\u2019s not as consistent, but that today, he outplayed every player on that pitch and some of those players are the best players in the world.<\/p>\n

\u2018That was really, really impressive tonight.\u2019<\/p>\n