Jadon Sancho blanked by Dortmund teammate in awkward exchange on full debut
Jadon Sancho was awkwardly blanked by one of his new teammates at Borussia Dortmund when he pleaded to take a penalty on his second full debut for the German club.
Sancho, fresh from completing his six-month loan move to former club Dortmund after being exiled at Manchester United, was fouled inside the 18-yard box as they led Koln 1-0 away from home with nearly an hour gone on Saturday. The 23-year-old loanee, who fell out with United manager Erik ten Hag back in September, got up and demanded to striker Niclas Fullkrug: "Give me the ball, give me the ball."
But Fullkrug, who didn't play alongside Sancho during his first spell at Dortmund from 2017 to 2021, refused to listen to his new team-mate and the Germany international took the penalty. Fortunately for the German heavyweights, Fullkrug scored to make it 2-0, and he and Sancho were all smiles following their awkward exchange.
Three minutes later, it was 3-0, as Dutch striker Donyell Malen bagged his second goal of the game. While substitute Youssoufa Moukoko made it 4-0 in added time, Sancho was withdrawn in the 66th minute, having completed the most dribbles (four) and won the most fouls (three) of any player in the Bundesliga clash, which was delayed in the first half due to fan protests.
Fullkrug addressed the penalty incident when speaking post-match, as per German football reporter Matt Ford on X. "Of course, [Sancho] wanted to take it," the former Werder Bremen talisman explained. "He wants his first goal and believe me: it will come. But we have a ranking. Even had Emre [Can] and Marco [Reus] been on, I'd have been up there! It wasn't my first pen."
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After Malen put the visitors 1-0 up, Koln supporters threw chocolate coins on the pitch. An eight-minute delay was caused, as fans declared their opposition to private equity investors being introduced in the German top flight.
Clubs in the Bundesliga and German second tier recently took part in a vote which would see around eight per cent of the respective leagues' TV and marketing rights sold. Of the 36 sides to take part across the two divisions, 24 backed the plans.
The potential deal is expected to be a 20-year agreement and could be worth up to €1billion (£860bn) but supporters aren't keen. Games involving fans from Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach all saw protests ahead of the initial vote. A final decision is set to be made in March.
Your turn! Will Jadon Sancho ever play for Manchester United again? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
Niclas Fullkrug and Jadon Sancho were all smiles after the incident (UWE KRAFT/AFP via Getty Images)Sancho will've been focussed on his football in Cologne, having come off the bench and registered an assist away to Darmstadt last Saturday. The 23-time capped England international had last played a competitive match in August, with Ten Hag calling him out publicly for his training performances and Sancho biting back on social media.
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this month when asked about Sancho, Ten Hag explained: "After he was signed, one year before (I arrived), there were issues. We've had issues all the way through (Sancho's time at Old Trafford). So you can make out that his stay here at Manchester United, so far, is not a success.
"So now he's going back to Borussia Dortmund and I wish him the best of luck. I hope, we hope, that he does very well there and he will be successful. Then we will see what's going to happen."
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