Jadon Sancho's career hit a new low at Aston Villa after the Manchester United flop snubbed Unai Emery after suffering the ultimate humiliation
16:29, 26 Oct 2025Updated 16:35, 26 Oct 2025
Jadon Sancho leaving the field against Manchester City
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Jadon Sancho suffered the ultimate humiliation against Manchester City(Image: PA)
Aston Villa loanee Jadon Sancho suffered the ultimate humiliation after he was brought on against Manchester City on Sunday, only to be taken off after just 45 minutes.
The winger came on for the injured Emi Buendia in the first half, but was replaced by Evann Guessand 16 minutes from the end as part of a double substitution. Sancho has seen limited action since his loan move from Manchester United late in the summer transfer window.
Prior to facing City, he had made just one substitute appearance in the league, although he did start in the midweek Europa League defeat to Go Ahead Eagles.
The 25-year-old recently returned from illness, with the game in the Netherlands marking his first appearance after a period out. However, Unai Emery didn't seem particularly impressed with his performance against City, opting instead to bring on fellow summer signing Guessand to help close out the game.
As he left the field, Sancho snubbed Emery's attempts to explain his decision and furiously returned to the bench.
Manchester City's Italian goalkeeper #25 Gianluigi Donnarumma (R) saves a shot from Aston Villa's English defender #19 Jadon Sancho (L) during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Manchester City at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on October 26, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Jadon Sancho had a golden chance to double Aston Villa's lead(Image: JUSTIN TALLIS, AFP via Getty Images)
Sancho did have a chance at goal shortly before being substituted. He made a neat break from the left, forcing a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, and his subsequent shot was also saved by the City goalkeeper.
Villa were leading 1-0 when Sancho came on, thanks to an early goal from Matty Cash. The score remained the same when the winger was substituted, as Villa sought to disrupt their rivals' title bid.
A late loss to City towards the end of last season hampered Villa's Champions League qualification hopes, but Emery knew that a victory on Sunday could inflict a similar setback on Pep Guardiola's side.
City believed they had salvaged a point in the dying moments when Erling Haaland bundled the ball over the line, but the strike was chalked off for offside in the build-up. When the six minutes of stoppage time finished, Cash's first-half effort proved decisive for Villa's triumph at home.
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Guardiola's side remained fourth when the final whistle sounded, though their grip on that position looks precarious. Villa trail them by just a single point, whilst Tottenham had the opportunity to overtake City by defeating Everton in Sunday's evening fixture.
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Back in September, Emery revealed his ambitions 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."