Jadon Sancho has always loved playing in Germany.
Back in the country where he recorded many of his remarkable 53 goals and 67 assists in 158 appearances over two spells with Borussia Dortmund, Sancho thrived again last night in a Chelsea shirt.
As Chelsea struggled to get the better of Heidenheim, a team only promoted to Germany’s top division for the first time in their history last year, Sancho provided the much-needed creativity to ensure Enzo Maresca’s side secured a 2-0 win in their latest Conference League fixture.
Both goals, scored by Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk, came from smart passes played with the 24-year-old England international’s right foot. Those moves were not the only time Sancho was a threat and defender Norman Theuerkauf will be relieved that the competition’s new league format means he does not have to face him again in a return fixture.
There was one piece of skill in particular, where Sancho feinted to go one way and dribbled the other, which sent the 37-year-old spinning one step closer to retirement. The incident was met by an ‘Ooh’ of appreciation from the Heidenheim fans and brought chants of ‘Jadon Sancho’ from the away end. Mind you, Chelsea supporters have been singing his name since he impressed on his debut against Bournemouth in September.
No wonder head coach Maresca looked so pleased talking about the winger afterwards. This was Sancho’s first start for Chelsea, who he joined from Manchester United on loan for the rest of the season with an obligation to buy next summer worth £20million to £25m, since being substituted at half-time against Liverpool on October 20.
After beginning his Chelsea career very brightly with three assists in as many matches, Sancho had appeared to fade a little. When Maresca revealed he was ruled out through illness and then ‘a knock’, cynics began to question whether this was the beginning of the kind of issues that occurred during his disappointing time at Old Trafford over the previous three seasons, leading to a loan back to Dortmund in January this year.
But the problems were genuine. He had a bad cold then, on his return to training, was on the receiving end of a very painful challenge that took him time to recover from.
Londoner Sancho is enjoying being at Chelsea and working under Maresca. Freed from the very tense relationship he had with the Italian’s United counterpart Erik ten Hag, he is playing with a smile on his face again.
A sign of just how relaxed Sancho is at the club he grew up supporting came in a fixture he was not even selected to be involved in.
Among those players rested by Maresca for the home Carabao Cup tie against fourth-tier Barrow in September, he walked into the Stamford Bridge press room at half-time, enjoyed some of the food the club had laid on for the media and exchanged a few pleasantries with journalists, before going out to support his team-mates once more after the interval. Compare that image to the sight of Sancho’s time at United, where he often looked like he would rather be anywhere else.
Maresca needs Sancho to be in this mindset and performing like this, especially with nine matches coming up in December across the Premier League and Conference League. The manager’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation relies on two wide men stretching the play and taking on defenders. His rivals for a starting spot — Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto and Mudryk — have a lot more speed to beat a man, but Sancho compensates for that by boasting more trickery.
There have been times, including against Heidenheim, where he should trust his skillset a lot more. For example, just before half-time last night, goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen threw the ball to him in lots of space after an attack from the home side had come to nothing. Instead of running forward with purpose, Sancho slowed and ended up having to pass backwards after the opposition players had sprinted back to cover.
Interestingly, for this fourth of six league-phase matches (Chelsea lead the 36-team table with maximum points and are well on their way to automatic qualification, via a top-eight finish, for the round of 16 in March), Maresca picked him on the right — the position United had primarily bought him for to play in. In the Premier League, he has been operating for Chelsea on the left.
As the below graphic demonstrates, Sancho’s threat does not come from hugging the touchline and simply whipping crosses in. He loves operating closer to the penalty area and providing a cutback instead, something Nkunku and Mudryk benefitted from in Heidenheim even though the passes came from the other flank.
Incredibly, Sancho is already within one assist of the total he managed in 82 appearances for United (six, to go with 12 goals) after just seven matches and 403 minutes of action for Chelsea.
All that is really missing so far is a goal for his new team, something Maresca intimated after his display last night.
Asked by The Athletic how vital it was that Sancho made such an impact in what his first start for over a month, Maresca replied: “It is very important. I said since we started, Jadon is very important for us. He has to be fit, mentally and physically. Unfortunately, we did not use him in the last few games but he showed again how important he is to us.
“It is what we need, especially against the teams that defend in the low block, we need that quality in the last third, that last pass. Sometimes he could shoot more, but I think he is going to help us a lot.”
(Top photo: Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)
