Jadon Sancho suffered the indignity of being subbed on and then subbed off during Aston Villa’s shock 1-0 win against Manchester City.
Matty Cash scored a stunning winner at Villa Park on Sunday to put a dent in City’s Premier League title hopes, with Arsenal now four points clear at the top following their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Sancho, who joined Villa on loan from Manchester United on deadline day, started the game on the bench but was called upon after 29 minutes to replace the injured Emi Buendia.
His performance didn’t seem to impress Unai Emery however, as he was then hauled off in the 74th minute for Evann Guessand.
As the winger came off the pitch, the former England international appeared to completely ignore his manager as he endured a new low.
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However, Emery said he was not dissatisfied with Sancho, claiming he was only brought off because of fitness reasons.
‘He is getting fit, but not enough,’ the Villa boss said in his post-match press conference.
‘I planned to play him in the second half, but after Buendia’s injury, I got him on. I have [subbed substitutes] before with Morgan Rogers and Buendia.
‘It was not a punishment, he played 45 minutes.’
Having been banished from first-team training at Carrington over the summer, and having recently come back from illness, it is perhaps understandable that Sancho may not yet be 100 per cent.
Once heralded as one of the best young players in the world, Sancho has suffered a fall from grace since leaving Borussia Dortmund for Old Trafford in 2021 in a deal worth £73million.
He failed to deliver at United and his career at the club effectively came to an end following a public fallout with Erik ten Hag two years ago.
The 25-year-old showed glimpses of his potential during loan spells at Dortmund and Chelsea, but even after helping the latter win the Conference League last season, they paid United £5m NOT to sign him permanently.
Ruben Amorim doesn’t want him and Emery doesn’t seem keen either, handing him just five appearances so far, with Villa losing the two games he started.
More to follow…
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