Nights like these are why Borussia Dortmund worked so hard to bring Jadon Sancho back over the winter.
Yes, club staff wanted to help him escape the exile he had spent months in at Manchester United, where he was banned from using first team facilities, was left to eat out of a lunchbox, made to train alone, and had no prospect of ever seeing match action after a public spat with Erik ten Hag.
But it was season-defining games like this one at home in the Champions League that they had in mind when director Sebastian Kehl and boss Eden Terzic FaceTimed Sancho with their plan between Christmas and New Years.
We’ll scratch your back, you scratch ours. Come and rebuild your reputation and make us successful; come ‘home’ was the pitch.
They had two questions on that call: was he serious about holding out on Ten Hag and was he serious about getting straight back into it with Dortmund? Yes, emphatically, was the response on both counts. Dortmund was, he told them, the only place he wanted to go.
Jadon Sancho celebrates with team-mates after firing Borussia Dortmund into an early lead against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night
It was for goals and moments such as this that Dortmund were keen to take Sancho on loan
Sancho capped his evening with UEFA’s Player of the Match award after Dortmund won 2-0 to beat PSV 3-1 on aggregate and reach the Champions League quarter-finals
The four-star hotel where Sancho is living during his loan spell at Dortmund from Man United
And so when Sancho, teed up by Julian Brandt, shifted the ball inside and fired low and hard into the bottom left corner to open the scoring in front of a vociferous Yellow Wall, Kehl and Terzic could both afford a smile.
The ‘SanShow’, as German newspaper Bild dubbed it, was back in business.
‘Pure footballing ecstasy,’ declared World Cup winner Sami Khedira. Both descriptions are hard to argue with.
‘It was like a relief,’ Sancho said of his goal. ‘I just wanted to have a good start to the game and there’s no better feeling than that. I’m grateful I got the goal for the team.
‘I’ve always got a special place for Borussia Dortmund: this is where I made my name. I’ve got to be grateful to them and my team-mates for believing in me.’
This was his first Champions League goal in 840 days and his first goal in front of home fans in Dortmund since May 2021.
When he was forced off 15 minutes from time with a hamstring complaint he did a lap of the pitch, soaking up the applause and the chanting of his name from every side of the ground.
This felt like a real needle mover in this stop-start second spell – now the onus is on him to keep it that way.
Sancho cost Manchester United £73million but the winger failed to scale the heights there
United manager Erik ten Hag banished Sancho after the player essentially accused him of lying over his efforts in training
Sancho was able to escape to old club Dortmund on loan but his future remains up in the air
Doubters and detractors have become a fixed part of the conversation when it comes to Sancho.
Even leaving the stadium here, Nina, a 27-year-old season ticket holder, tells Mail Sport that Sancho is ‘a difficult conversation’ for fans to have.
‘He’s expensive,’ she said. ‘I love him and he is great – but how often [does he perform]?’
CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke texted him often, particularly when his exile at Manchester United became increasingly strained.
A duty of care for any Dortmund alumni is part of the fabric of the club, that much has been evident just a few days being around the camp.
The fears of bringing him back: his time-keeping and his desire. His love of PlayStation and late-night gaming sessions was not lost on Dortmund’s hierarchy even as they fluttered their eyelashes to win him back.
Back in September Sancho found himself in the headlines for a 3am gaming session with a Man United fan.
It smacked of a player that had no regard for the serious situation he found himself in. It smacked of immaturity.
Yellow and black scarves with Sancho’s face on them for sale in Dortmund’s big club shop
Sancho mugs were among the merchandise lines rushed out to celebrate his return to the club
One source close to the United dressing room told Mail Sport that by the end of his time at United – prior to his team exile – he was being given adapted schedules with far earlier arrival times than team-mates.
United told Mail Sport that many players have altered schedules for a ‘variety’ of reasons and Sancho’s was not strictly down to his time-keeping ability.
But concerns were and have been valid, though, and Sancho was mature enough to face them head on, doing enough to placate those fears over FaceTime as the move went ahead.
Sancho’s dynamism is what excites supporters; one could argue he is the only potential superstar talent in this team. It was no wonder the club’s own social team made him the poster boy for this mammoth knockout tie.
During our three-day visit of Dortmund, sources close to the team spoke of his infectious personality, one that was the dressing room DJ in his first spell, putting team-mates onto an array of English and French rap.
He continues to be popular in the dressing room but is now a player that is also increasingly OK in his own company. Sancho had to get used to that at Manchester United and it’s stuck.
Even leaving the stadium past midnight, long after many of his team-mates had already been chauffeured back to their cars elsewhere in the city, Sancho strolled out alone with his UEFA Player of the Match trophy nestled in his arm like a rugby ball.
Dortmund memorabilia behind the bar at the Lütge-Eck pub in the city, where support of the local football team is fanatical
The card of Sancho dates back to his original spell with Dortmund, when he wore the No 7 shirt
Upon returning to Dortmund he wanted to sit next to his best friend in the squad Marco Reus.
That spot was taken and was not for moving and so now he sits in the back right corner between substitute goalkeeper Alexander Meyer and Ramy Bensebaini.
There is such a desperation internally for Sancho’s six months back to be an overwhelming success.
Terzic is one of his biggest cheerleaders and has pleaded for Sancho to be afforded more time and patience from supporters. Watzke is a big ally. The club’s social media team are doing all in their power to magnify every little win.
‘Sancho is back doing Sancho things,’ the club posted on X after his first goal since coming back, at the weekend away to Werder Bremen.
It was his first goal of any kind since May 2023 – against Fulham – and so ‘Sancho things’, as good as that goal was, was stretching out the truth just a touch.
Now he’s gone back to back with goals for the first time since November 21, maybe they were onto something after all.
‘Jadon Sancho is brilliant,’ the official X account stated on Wednesday. No one was up for an argument.
‘There’s always pressure,’ Sancho said earlier this week in one of the few times he has spoken publicly since coming back.
‘Last time I was at BVB, I had a goal or an assist in every game. So I can understand that the fans expect a lot from me. I expect a lot from myself too.
Thursday morning’s edition of sports paper Bild celebrates Sancho’s return to top form
‘I can understand if they’re a bit upset with me for not contributing as much these past few weeks. I expect that from myself too.
‘As you can see [at Bremen], my face isn’t completely happy. But I want to continue improving for the team.’
Terzic refused to bow to fan criticism about starting Sancho even when his form has not merited it. In the first leg against PSV he didn’t create a single chance – and yet Terzic knew big moments would follow that Bremen winner. Vindication.
Sancho poses for selfies as Dortmund leave their team hotel pre-match
‘It was his first goal, not his last – we are quite sure of that,’ Terzic predicted in the moments leading up to kick-off here.
‘He showed that he is full of joy, wants to play and wants to help us. It’s a matter of time before he shines again.’
And yet as good as this week has been for Sancho, there’s a smile back on his face and he dropped a W celebration to the cameras now he has his mojo back, what no-one can seem to shake is this feeling of everything being so temporary with him.
Victory here means there are 11 more chances to do those ‘Sancho things’ so many are holding out for.
Dortmund have no purchase option for him this summer and they almost certainly won’t be able to finance buying him, even if United clench their teeth for a hefty loss and accept £40m for him.
Terzic remains at risk of the sack and should Ten Hag be given another season by new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, there is certainly no way back at Man United.
Sancho is smiling but if he isn’t totally happy right now, harbouring a bittersweet sensation, it’s understandable. He’s in a state of limbo – and everyone knows it.
One manager who is finished with him is still in post, another who loves him may not be in post much longer and his enormous transfer fee and wages are enormous stumbling blocks.
Sancho opened his scoring account second time around for Dortmund by scoring in last weekend’s Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen
The winger needs to continue impressing during his loan to find clarity over his future
One well-placed source close to the dressing room told Mail Sport that there won’t be a deal forthcoming to keep Sancho unless Manchester United heavily subsidise another loan.
Talk of a swap deal that involves Donyell Malan was given short shrift when brought up as one option.
‘He isn’t having the impact on games like he once did,’ the source added.
With no goals and two assists prior to this week’s green shoots of life, it almost didn’t even need saying out loud.
Some fans don’t even want to see much effort paid to keeping Sancho beyond the summer.
‘We’ve got bigger problems in this team,’ Franck, a fan of more than 30 years, tells Mail Sport at the popular Wenkers sports bar, a stone’s throw from the famed Bläserbrunnen statue.
‘We already have [Jamie] Bynoe-Gittens who can play [on the left].’
The 19-year-old, who also came through at Man City, is viewed as the next superstar to come off Dortmund’s well-polished production line and in some quarters there are dissenting voices for Terzic’s unwavering faith to stick with Sancho.
‘Sometimes we expect too much from Sancho,’ Oskar, a local clothes salesman, tells Mail Sport. ‘Technically he has it all. But, right now it’s tough.’
Even Aki, the bar woman of the Lütge-Eck pub, which is floor to ceiling clad in various items of Dortmund memorabilia, is unconcerned when it is pointed out that her display of player autographed postcards has Sancho from his previous spell, then with the No 7.
Sancho was criticised while at United for his poor time-keeping and late night gaming sessions
If he stays she may change it, but the Sancho light had been dim, figuratively and literally, in the case of the display behind the bar, for a while now.
His match-winning display to defeat PSV has shown there’s a flicker or two left in him yet.
It’s Tuesday, a day out from what is a season-defining game for Dortmund and a gaggle of assembled reporters are in attendance at the team’s Strobelallee Training Centre.
Lots of camera lenses are fixed on Terzic, what with Julian Nagelsmann’s name refusing to go away amid talk of his future beyond the summer, Marco Reus, a Dortmund legend who has fallen out of favour of late, and Malan, this week linked once again to Manchester United.
Less attention was to be paid to Sancho. That’s how it has been these days. Much like column inches, eyeballs have come and gone on him away from the bright lights of Manchester United.
When Sancho emerged as one the final players to enter the training session he was swift to remember the respect that comes before a rondo in this part of the world.
One of the few to opt for gloves – it was searingly cold in fairness to him – Sancho went to every member of Dortmund’s media team, every photographer and executive stood pitchside, and gave them a quick fist-bump.
Any prospect of a swap deal with United involving Donyell Malen was given short shrift
The presence of winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens at Dortmund reduces the need for Sancho
A small gesture, granted, but one that is said to capture his personality right now.
There was no messing around, a quick chuckle to team-mate Felix Nmecha aside, but here was Sancho listening diligently to instructions, both in English and in German, and executing as well as any of his team-mates.
A bad trainer? Nobody at Dortmund wants to entertain that.
‘He’s much quieter these days but he works so hard,’ one source close to the club said of Sancho.
It was his application in training, or lack thereof in the eyes of Ten Hag, that led to his exile at Manchester United. A public statement calling his boss a liar only added jet fuel to the row and the rest, as they say, was history.
Peggy, 21, and her mother have made the trip from their home near Leipzig to Dortmund’s team hotel in the south of the city many times before.
Along with a dozen eager fans, as well as Mail Sport, they are braving the rain to catch a glimpse of Sancho and his team-mates in the hours before kick-off.
Many are waiting for Reus, or Brandt, or Marcel Sabitzer. For one fan, Niklas, warming up to Sancho again when he is only on a six-month rental is foolish for fans.
‘If he signs a new contract then sure, I’ll buy his shirt next,’ he said.
But, many Dortmund fans did flock to get the Sancho 10 jersey, 5,000 in the first week at the club’s stadium megastore to be precise. Sancho fever brought in €500,000 in seven days. The poster boy tag looked good.
Dortmund fans did flock to buy Sancho 10 jerseys when he returned but interest has cooled
Things have cooled since on Sancho, no longer the player that was built up from a professional debut to a £73million megastar that was waved off to join Manchester United.
At the club’s megastore on Wednesday the only sign of Sancho, who doesn’t feature on any signage on either the first or second floor, is on a €20 scarf buried on the second row at the back of the room and a mug showing a smiling Sancho beaming ear to ear in his first spell.
Now, walking into the L’Arrivee hotel he had his jogging bottoms sagged, with a matte black wash-bag in his left hand and a rucksack of the same brand slung over his shoulder.
His head was somewhat bowed, hood up, AirPods firmly in with the playlist on shuffle, but he stopped dutifully for a handful of autograph requests.
Sancho is currently living at the four-star L’Arrive Hotel, which formerly hosted Jurgen Klopp
It boasts a plush spa and swimming pool, with rooms costing around £170 a night
It is here at this four-star hotel – which has previously housed Jurgen Klopp and his wife Ulla – that he is living right now. Living life out of a suitcase can take its toll, even if this hotel and spa is a plush set-up for the 23-year-old.
The 70-room €200-a-night hotel – the best suite in the place, which staff were abrupt in telling Mail Sport they could not disclose who is using, is closer to €300 a night – was facilitated for Sancho by Dortmund’s integration officer, Joel Kanz, one of the key figures helping Sancho for life back in the Ruhr region.
Things are different for Sancho now he is back on a rental. As he keeps himself busy with training and gaming in his hotel room, by contrast, many of his team-mates, including fellow loanee Ian Maatsen, live in the swankier Hörde district of Dortmund overlooking Lake Phoenix.
It’s quieter that way, even on a matchday. A quick stroll on the morning of the PSV game showed local residents non-plussed by the chaos in the city centre, instead leaving those coming in and out of private garages, with windows tinted on almost every car coming and going in peace.
A bakery is doing light trade with an American field trip the highlight of a quiet morning. It suits players, and for a time it suited Sancho.
Dortmund will be hoping Sancho can help them advance much further in Europe
This is where Sancho used to live, and used to run. It was brought up during this trip how Sancho turned heads internally when, in a bid to build up his fitness in 2021, he would go on 5.22am runs around the lake. It was one of the only times he was going to avoid being stopped for autographs.
But with no option-to-buy in this temporary arrangement with Manchester United, putting down roots feels somewhat fruitless.
During his exile he deleted all trace of Manchester United from his Instagram – which has 9.8million followers – and yet, by the ink on his £300,000-a-week contract, he is tied to Old Trafford until 2026 unless they cut bait.
‘We hope Erik [ten Hag] stays!’ One Dortmund staff member joked to Mail Sport at the training day. Sancho no doubt agrees and then he may well be back here next season.
For now the limbo continues and Sancho’s job is to make Dortmund break the bank by whatever means to keep him. Goals like this one don’t hurt.
‘He is special. We all see it in the dressing room,’ goalkeeper Gregor Kobel told Mail Sport after the PSV win.
‘He’s a special player with a lot of talents. I am really, really happy for him that he scored again and I hope that he can build momentum after the last game and now. I am really, really happy that he is here and really grateful for the talents he brings.’
How long will Dortmund have his talents this time? That’s the question no one can quite seem to answer.