Critics were starting to round on Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho for some indifferent performances since his summer transfer saga.
The England star, though, bounced back on Tuesday as he propelled Borussia Dortmund to the brink of the Champions League last 16.
📷 Jadon Sancho: Match Performance
A ⏱️ 18' Dortmund waste no time in getting their noses ahead. Sancho goes on a piercing run through the centre before slipping a pass to Haaland, who fires home from a tight angle.
⚽ ⏱️ 45' Sancho eyes up the free kick then sends a curling right-footed shot into the top corner of the net from the arc of the ‘D’. He is the first Englishman to score a direct free-kick in the competition for a foreign club since David Beckham in October 2005.
The match is taken away from the Belgians by Haaland, who benefits from a kind bounce of the ball after an hour before rifling home.
〽️ Jadon Sancho: Rating
✔️ IMPROVEMENT
It’s not been a vintage run of form for Sancho, who has posted some pretty modest scores in recent weeks. On his last Dortmund start against Bayern Munich, he received a 6.2 FC Rating. On Tuesday, though, that sprang up to a 9.0 FC Rating.
🗝️ Key Stats
Sancho match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 9.0 | Rank #1 |
| Mins Played | 90 | |
| Goals | 1 | |
| Assists | 1 | |
| Crosses | 5 | Rank #1 |
| Shots | 3 | |
| On Target | 2 |
Jadon Sancho: What Next?
Sancho’s task is to build on this excellent outing. On Saturday, he will have the chance to put his side temporarily top of the Bundesliga against Koln, then next Tuesday they can book their place in the knockout stages by overcoming Lazio at home.
Jadon Sancho 
Erling Haaland 
BVB 
Man Utd 
England 
