Jadon Sancho may have dealt Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag a huge blow after Borussia Dortmund bounced back against Atletico Madrid to secure a spot in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night.
Dortmund came into the tie 2-1 down, and were perhaps lucky to not concede more at the Metropolitano Stadium last Wednesday, considering Atletico’s dominant performance.
Yet, Edin Terzic’s side produced an epic comeback to win 4-2 (5-4 on aggregate) at the Signal Iduna Park last night, with ex-Man united star, Marcel Sabitzer, firing the German’s into the semi-finals with his strike in the 74th minute.
Sancho, meanwhile, who returned to Dortmund on loan in January, didn’t get on the score sheet, but was on the field for all four goals and alongside Sabitzer, may have compounded further woes for the Red Devils boss amid what’s been a rollercoaster of a season.
Manchester United are currently seventh in the league table, having not won in their last four games. Concerns have been mounting that Ten Hag’s side could miss out on qualifying for the Champions League next season, having already crashed out of the tournament at the group stages in December.
Next season, the illustrious European tournament will be expanded from 32 teams to 36 teams, meaning there are two additional spots up for grabs.
UEFA will award those places to the countries that have the best co-efficient across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League this season.
Italy are currently top of that ranking withan average coefficient of 18.428, with AC Milan, Roma, Atalanta and Fiorentina all still in European competitions.
Germany are currently ranked second in the standings at 17.214 after Dortmund’s win on Tuesday, just 0.464 points ahead of England who sit third in the standings.
Alongside Dortmund, Germany also have Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in European tournaments this season, with English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa also still in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Should England surpass Germany in the standings, it will mean the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League this season will qualify for the Champions League. Sixth place will advance to play in the Europa League.
It could also be a big blow for Tottenham and Newcastle, who sit fifth and sixth in the league standings, with Spurs 10 points clear of the Magpies and Red Devils who sit level on 60 points – with Newcastle having also failed to advance out of the group stages this season.
But Sancho and Sabitzer may have thrown a spanner in the works for United.
It comes as Sancho’s contract at the Bundesliga side set to expire later this summer. Dortmund have been plotting to make the £73million winger’s move to the Signal Iduna Park permanent – with his contract at United set to expire in 2026.
Sancho, who has returned two goals and two assists for Dortmund since his return, recently liked a social media post that appeared to criticise his time at Man United.
Whether he will return to United in the summer remains to be seen after he was exiled by Ten Hag last season, but has made it clear that he is happy playing in Germany again.
‘I’m just grateful that I got the goal for the team,’ he said. ‘I’ve always got a special place for Borussia Dortmund, this is where I kind of made my name so I’ve got to be grateful to them but also to my team-mates for believing in me.’
Back at Old Trafford, meanwhile, Ten Hag’s side are very much in danger of missing out on playing in the Champions League next season, with the Dutch manager having recently expressed the financial ramifications that missing out on qualifying could have for the club.
‘We don’t even have to discuss this. What exactly is the impact in this moment? I don’t know,’ he said in February.
‘You have more financial power when you achieve the Champions League and that is our target, absolutely.’
Dortmund will now take on PSG in the next round of the tournament after Luis Enrique’s side also sealed an epic comeback victory on Tuesday night against Barcelona.
