Bundesliga
"World class" Jadon Sancho back to his best
With another assist and goal to add to his growing collection, Jadon Sancho was once again in inspirational form for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
After scoring and assisting in Dortmund's 3-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld, the Englishman now has six goals and nine assists to his name this season, taking him to 36 and 43 respectively in just 99 Bundesliga appearances. What stands out in particular, though, is that until the turn of the year, the 20-year-old had been struggling to live up to the standards he set in 2019/20.
Those difficult first few months of the season are now well and truly a thing of the past, though.
"He's absolutely world class," said former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann to Sky. "In one-against-ones, there's nobody better than him right now. He's two-footed and can play on either side, shifts his weight fantastically and is technically perfect."
Watch: Sancho's star turn against Bielefeld
"For a young player, it's never always an upward trajectory, but the way he's come out of a dip shows that he's really got the right character. He seems to be working even harder."
Mats Hummels can confirm that assumption. "He's been playing really well for weeks and has been working a little bit differently for the past few weeks and months," he told Sky. "Both in training and in the gym, and now he's getting his reward for that.
"He's playing excellently and is leading by example. We already knew that he's got attacking potential that very few others possess."
As a result, he is "the hottest property in European football, together with Haaland," according to Hamann.
Watch: Sancho on why he took the penalty against Bielefeld
Fortunately for Dortmund, they have both of these players on their books, hungrier than ever to score goals. In fact, Sancho also assumed penalty-taker duties to slot home his sixth of the season on Saturday.
"I've been practising penalties and I think that's a good addition for a forward player to have and so I'm happy enough that Marco [Reus] let me take the penalty, and happy to score," Sancho told bundesliga.com.
Having Sancho back in such scintillating form is certainly a good addition for Dortmund, as they prepare for a DFB Cup quarter-final with Borussia Mönchengladbach and to secure a place in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League by finishing the job against Sevilla.
And thanks to Sancho's latest goal and assist, a place in the top four of the Bundesliga is now right back within Dortmund's crosshairs, as they push on into the final third of the season.