Owen Hargreaves feels Jadon Sancho “outperformed some of the best players in the world”.
And “answered a lot of questions” in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Niclas Fullkrug’s emphatic finish first-half strike gave Dortmund a 1-0 advantage heading into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.
But it was Sancho who was Dortmund’s standout star.
The English winger completed 12 dribbles in the game.
The most of any player in any Champions League match this season and more than anyone in the competition has managed since Lionel Messi in 2008.
“I could tell by his first few touches that he was confident and his body language showed he believed,” Hargreaves told TNT Sports.
“He had a little bit of arrogance about him, this is what makes a flair player really good.
“At [Manchester] United, we didn’t really see him commit people, whether that was confidence or he wasn’t as fit. But Jadon answered a lot of questions today.
“You might criticise that he is not consistent, but that today, he outperformed every single player on that pitch and there are world class, the best players in the world out there some of them.”
Hargreaves added: “In the Champions League semi-final, the shirt is heavy no matter what team you’re playing for.
“That deserves all praise, any haters out there can hate. He outperformed the best player in the world today in Kylian Mbappe. That deserves a lot of praise. Super impressive.”
Sancho was frozen out at Manchester United earlier this season before returning to Dortmund on loan, and Rio Ferdinand was highly complimentary of what he believed was Sancho’s best performance of the season.
In addition to his impressive stats, the winger also became the first English player to complete more than 11 take-ons in a Champions League match.
Ferdinand agreed with Hargreaves’ analysis of the “arrogance” Sancho showed, but also the “swagger” he presented which Man Utd fans have been waiting to see since his big-money arrival in 2021.
“He was shaking and baking top players. He’s making people dance,” Ferdinand said.
“It was a joke what he has done today. We haven’t seen this probably since he was at Dortmund.
“He isn’t just a dribbler, he isn’t somebody who just runs and runs. He’s a footballer who wants to come in and play one-twos, be part of the game and the tempo.
“The arrogance is a great point as well, what I saw today more than anything which I’ve been waiting to see, and all other Man Utd fans have been thinking ‘Where is it?’
“I saw cage football Sancho today. This is the kid who grew up in cages with that arrogance and that little bit of swagger. I’ve been sitting here saying it’s there, but we haven’t seen it.”
“He’s in the groove,” Ferdinand added when asked if Sancho can show the consistency he has struggled to show since his first spell in Germany.
“When someone gets in the groove, we see it in different sports. When they’re in the groove and the confidence is there, they churn these performances out.”
Dortmund travel to Paris for the second leg on Tuesday, May 7, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, as they look to defend their one-goal advantage and reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2013.
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
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Source: Forbes
