Jadon Sancho hasn't scored a league goal for Borussia Dortmund in over six months
Borussia Dortmund suffered yet another defeat in the Bundesliga on Friday night when Union Berlin overcame the troubled side with a 2-1 victory in the German capital.
The result means Dortmund could now spend Christmas sitting nine points off the top of the table before they’ve even begun their search for a new head coach to replace Lucien Favre.
However, another troubling concern for the hierarchy at the Westfalenstadion may be the misfiring form of one of their key players: Jadon Sancho.
Sancho’s dip in form in 2020
In a frustrating match against Urs Fischer’s in-form Union side, Sancho wore the expression of a frustrated figure that simply isn’t enjoying his football right now.
The young English forward managed just four shots over the course of the game, with only one of them hitting the target despite seven touches of the ball in the opposing box. Which is why he managed a score of just 6.9.
Yet, probably came as no surprise to Dortmund fans who have watched their former match-winner stumble through this current campaign.
Indeed, Sancho’s form has been so bleak for the Bundesliga side that Friday’s night’s match marked 202 days since the forward last scored a league goal for Dortmund.
What’s gone wrong for Sancho?
When we dive into the stats perhaps the most obvious one that suggests where the problem lies is the forward’s shooting this season.
In last season’s Bundesliga, Sancho was averaging 1.96 shots P90 with an accuracy of 54%. This season his number of shots P90 has actually gone up to 2.31, but his accuracy has plummeted to just 21%.
In other words, Sancho seems to be hitting wilder and more desperate shots this time around. Which would make sense, since four of his five shots against Union were blocked by nearby defenders.
This also translates to the players expected goals average. Last season Sancho averaged 0.31 xg P90, but that number has now fallen 0.22 P90 this time around.