Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admitted Jadon Sancho, along with Tyrell Malacia, was substituted for his lack of movement on the ball rather than his role in Omonia Nicosia's opening goal on Thursday night.
Both players were withdrawn at half-time, with Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford coming on in their places. Rashford went on to score United's equaliser and eventual winner in the 3-2 win in Cyprus.
Speaking after the contest, Ten Hag said: “It was not [the goal] what I was happy with, it was the movement with our ball. The width on the left side, for me, was no good first-half. The movement from behind the defending line. So I hoped with Luke and Marcus, we get more effect from that and so in my opinion that happens."
While there’s sure to be some truth in what Ten Hag said, it’s hard not to imagine the decision to remove both players didn’t in some way come as a retribution for their roles in the goal, especially in the case of Sancho.
Although it was Malacia who lost the ball, it was the England man’s poor reaction to the turnover that would have left Ten Hag far from impressed. Sancho initially played the careless pass to Malacia which led to him being caught on the ball and then dispossessed.
At that moment, Sancho did not react and sprint back, instead he dropped his head and looked towards the floor. Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez and other United players began sprinting back in an attempt to make crucial recovery runs.
Sancho, though, did not show the same desire to get back in and instead lightly jogged towards the United goal. By the time Omonia players broke into the United half, he was way back and away from the action.
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The attacker joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2021 for a fee worth £73million, but has failed to produce the kind of form he did on a regular basis at Borussia Dortmund. During his final campaign with the Bundesliga side, he scored 16 goals and registered a further 20 assists.
For United, he’s scored just five goals and registered only three assists in total across both campaigns so far. His faltering form has also seen him go from a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squad to being dropped completely, and he’s unlikely to be included in November’s squad for the World Cup.
Some feel that the United’s broader issues have had a detrimental effect on Sancho’s capacity to produce his best form. Speaking on talkSPORT, pundit Jason Cundy said he believed if Sancho was playing for Arsenal, then we’d be seeing a much better version of the 22-year-old.
“Right now, he’s not the player they [United] thought he was going to be, but he’s still young, we’re not talking about a player’s career being over,” Cundy said of Sancho. “He’s struggled to settle, it’s a massive club, huge transfer fee, it hasn’t happened for him yet.
“Man United have to be patient, there’s a lot going on at United. If you put him in Arsenal right now, who are a side who are completely different to what they were 12 months ago, if you put Sancho in an Arsenal side, I think you’d see a different Sancho.
“He’s had a change of manager. It’s not been a happy club, they’re not playing well, it’s a lot to deal with personally.”
Irrespective of whether that is true or not, Sancho’s reputation among the United fans and with Ten Hag is only going to worsen if he doesn’t show more willingness to work hard and help his teammates during tough moments like the one leading to the opening goal on Thursday night.
