Jadon Sancho leaving the field against Manchester City
Jadon Sancho leaving the field against Manchester City
Aston Villa loanee Jadon Sancho was substituted on by Aston Villa against Manchester City on Sunday but then withdrawn after just 45 minutes on the pitch. The winger replaced the injured Emi Buendia during the first half, but saw his number come up 16 minutes from time as Villa introduced Evann Guessand as part of a double change.
Sancho has been used sparingly since joining on loan from Manchester United late in the summer transfer window. He had made just one substitute appearance in the league before facing City, though he started the midweek Europa League defeat against Go Ahead Eagles.
The 25-year-old recently returned after illness, with that outing in the Netherlands his first outing since a spell on the sidelines. Unai Emery didn't appear especially impressed by his showing against City, though, backing fellow summer signing Guessand to help see the game out.
Sancho did get a sight of goal shortly before his withdrawal. He made a tidy break inside from the left, drawing a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, and his follow-up effort was also kept out by the City keeper.
Villa were 1-0 up when Sancho entered the field, with Matty Cash firing them into an early lead. It was still 1-0 when the winger made way, as Villa attempted to dent their rivals' title charge.
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A late defeat against City towards the end of last season dented Villa's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, but Emery knew a win on Sunday could deal a similar blow to Pep Guardiola's men.
City thought they had rescued a point late on when Erling Haaland forced the ball home, but the goal was ruled out due to an offside in the build-up. Once the six minutes of added time were up, Cash's first-half goal proved enough for a home win for Villa.
Guardiola's team were still fourth in the table when the final whistle blew, but their position is perilous. Villa are just a point behind them, while Tottenham had a chance to leapfrog City by beating Everton in Sunday's late game.
Matty Cash celebrating his goal for Aston Villa against Manchester City
Matty Cash celebrating his goal for Aston Villa against Manchester City
(
Image:
Offside via Getty Images)
Back in September, Emery outlined his plans for Sancho. "Yes, of course, this is my objective, to get him back to his best - and if he does that, then he'll come back to the national team," the Spaniard said.
"Every player wants to be part of the national team. When he was in Borussia Dortmund, he performed fantastic. And he played with the national team 25 matches, more or less.
"Of course, he's still young. He's still being hungry to show his capacity to play with his skills, his qualities, and hopefully we can exploit here, again, his best."
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