NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Thierry Henry has praised Jadon Sancho for returning from his intellectual struggles at Manchester United to produce a remarkable individual performance in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Sancho was arguably the standout player on the pitch in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg at Signal Iduna Park, proving to be a constant thorn in PSG’s side as Niclas Fullkrug’s 36th-minute goal put Dortmund ahead for next week’s match in Paris. .
The German striker really deserved to have had a moment after a magical move on Sancho’s flank on the hour mark, he fired his shot over the bar from five yards, much to the relief of PSG fans away from home in a raucous Westfalenstadion.
Sancho was largely flattered for cheating in United colours after a high-profile move from Dortmund in 2021, with the England striker joining the Bundesliga club on loan in January in hopes of reviving his career.
And while Sancho had shown signs of returning to his best, his performance against Kylian Mbappe and Co. is the biggest reminder yet of the winger’s undoubted ability that convinced the Red Devils to engage in tactics with £73 million just three years ago.
Analysing Dortmund’s win in the TNT Sports studio, United’s Rio Ferdinand was lyrical about Sancho’s performance, wondering why the striker has struggled to succeed at such heights in Manchester.
Legendary former Arsenal striker Henry was also impressed and applauded Sancho for managing to break out of the intellectual rut he was in at Old Trafford.
“We all know he had mental problems at Manchester United. The power of the brain and how you can be a professional. . . When you’re not satisfied here [in the spirit], or at home, or whatever, you can’t “I don’t care where you are, who you are, or what skill you have,” Henry said on CBS Sports.
“You can see that things are a little bit better up there, no matter how complicated it is with him, because to do what he did tonight. . . I think at Manchester United he played 48 games and dribbled past a player seven times. I did it in the first ten minutes tonight.
“All I can say is: don’t underestimate this. Mental fitness is not an easy thing to handle and you can see that when they’re smart up there, they can perform, very well done, big. “
According to Henry, Sancho made an “unbelievable” decision when he opted to temporarily return to Dortmund mid-season.
“You want to feel love, you want to feel that way and you can’t lose your football that way,” Henry added.
“We all know it happened to me, when you’re not doing well, you can’t play on the field, no matter what the scenario is away from home.
“Most of the time, we’re very critical of guys who don’t perform because they’re at a big club and they don’t perform well, but they have a tendency to what happens off the field.
“If you don’t do it, then you’re not going to do well and that’s why I think it was a selection for him to be loaned to Dortmund, where I knew maybe the highlight wasn’t going to be for him as well. “A lot. . . from the beginning. ‘
“He needed to get some performance back, start betting plays again, get minutes in his games and you can see how that feels.
“When you have minutes, the balance is in your head, everything is fine off the field, you are fine mentally, then you can play. What he did today. . . Wow!’
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