All eyes will be focused on Cristiano Ronaldo returning to do battle with Atletico Madrid tonight for the 36th time in his career.
Ronaldo has a staggering 34 combined goals and assists in his 35 previous games vs Atletico – but he is not the only one who has been there and done it against Diego Simeone’s side. Enter Jadon Sancho.
A little known fact about Sancho’s career is that he scored his first ever Champions League goal against Atletico Madrid.
Sancho helped embarrass Atletico
Back in October 2018, Sancho helped to inflict Atletico Madrid’s worst defeat under Diego Simeone since 2011, and their worst ever in the Champions League.
Just 18 at the time, the teenager helped Dortmund to a 4-0 win after coming off the bench to score his side’s third, finishing off a slick counter attacking move to pass the ball into the net past a flailing Jan Oblak.
The home victory for Dortmund saw the German side make the most of an even game, with both sides sharing equal possession and having near the same amount of shots at goal – Dortmund just made the most of their opportunities.
Sancho’s breakthrough was heralded as a key moment in his career, where the press in England began to sit up and take notice that the young prospect making his mark in Germany was doing it on the big stage in Europe too.
This moment no doubt piqued United’s interest again too, with the Red Devils monitoring ever since he left City in 2017.
Sancho has continued to show a penchant for scoring in big games, also netting for Dortmund against Barcelona, striking twice in the German Cup final against RB Leipzig, and also scoring at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea for United earlier this season.
With attention focused on Ronaldo tonight, it would not be a surprise to see Sancho pop up and take advantage of any extra space created, and make another decisive impact against the Spanish side.
Atletico full-backs a weak spot
Atletico Madrid’s weaknesses play into Sancho’s hands. Their full-backs were given the runaround by Adama Traore when they lost 4-2 to Barcelona three weeks ago, and they have not managed to replace Kieran Trippier since selling him to Newcastle.
Sancho will switch flanks and find a weak spot to exploit, and he may have two to choose from. His surge in form and flowing confidence makes him a menace Atletico may simply be unable to handle.
With the confidence of already starring once against Simeone’s side, Sancho won’t be daunted at all by tonight’s challenge, Atletico will be the fearful ones.
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