Jadon Sancho has hailed his Borussia Dortmund teammates for reaching the Champions League semi finals – despite handing Manchester United a huge blow.
The German giants reached the last four on Tuesday evening with a dramatic 5-4 aggregate win against Atletico Madrid. Dortmund were 2-1 down after the first-leg but rallied at home to seal their spot in the semi-finals.
Sancho played 86 minutes of the clash. Taking to social media with his thoughts after the full-time whistle, the on-loan Man United star wrote: “SEMI FINALS! Great fight from the team today!”
Despite his delight, Sancho could have done some serious damage to the Red Devils and Erik ten Hag. Dortmund’s progression sees Germany bolster their chances of earning an additional Champions League spot next season.
As it stands, Italy sit top of the race with their UEFA coefficient standing at 18.428. Germany’s is now 17.214 – and should it remain that way, both countries will earn an additional spot. England are some way off the pace with a coefficient of 16.750. An extra place would certainly have been useful for the Red Devils.
A miserable campaign so far sees them sit seventh in the Premier League – and ten points off of fifth-placed Spurs. No additional spot would mean that they would have to finish fourth, something that is highly unlikely at this stage.
That could see Ten Hag’s position come under severe scrutiny. Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already emphasised the importance of the club being in the Champions League.
Jadon Sancho celebrates after Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League semi-finals (
Getty Images)
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Speaking after sealing his purchase of the side, he said: “We really, really want to get into the Champions League next year – it’s quite important for FFP. It’s a two to three season challenge to get the organisation and environment right to produce results.
“Our focus is absolutely on the field, winning football matches, but the first thing is the organisation – the design of the organisation needs to be correct. If you take the example at the moment with the coach reporting to the chief executive, that doesn’t make any sense.”
The Red Devils take a break from their Premier League commitments this weekend. They take on Championship side Coventry in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
