Jadon Sancho must now start for Aston Villa after superb cameo in Sunderland draw
Jadon Sancho did himself a massive favour at Aston Villa with his performance against Sunderland.
Villa only tabled a point against Sunderland despite the Black Cats being at a disadvantage, due to playing the whole second half with 10 men.
This came after Reinildo was sent off for Sunderland due to violent conduct after he lashed out at Matty Cash following a poor initial challenge from the Poland international.
With that being said, the likes of Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers were poor against Sunderland and were deservedly hooked by Unai Emery.
This handed Sancho the opportunity to shine, a chance that he took up and proved exactly why the Villans moved to sign him on deadline day.
Jadon Sancho stars in substitute cameo vs Sunderland
It has to be said, the fact that Evann Guessand remained on the pitch against Sunderland can arguably be seen as poor from the Villa boss.
There was a general lack of positivity surrounding any of the attacking players for the away side, but changes never came until the 58th minute.
Strangely, Sancho wasn’t called upon until the 82nd minute, but when he was afforded the chance by Emery, he proved exactly what sort of difference he can make.
In just eight minutes, the Manchester United loanee was able to clock up 20 touches, with which he maintained a 93 per cent pass accuracy.
He then went on to swing in two crosses, with Watkins coming so close to nodding in what would have been the winner at the Stadium of Light.
The Englishman also had one shot, which was blocked, but it was ultimately due to a true lack of minutes that he wasn’t able to do more in the north east.
Jadon Sancho must start for Aston Villa vs Bologna
In the midst of what has been a terrible start to the campaign, Villa could really do without Europa League action this week.
| Date | Opponent | Competition | Stadium |
| 25/09/25 | Bologna (H) | Europa League | Villa Park |
| 28/09/25 | Fulham (H) | Premier League | Villa Park |
| 02/10/25 | Feyenoord (A) | Europa League | Stadion Feijenoord |
| 05/10/25 | Burnley (H) | Premier League | Villa Park |
| 19/10/25 | Tottenham (A) | Premier League | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
But having missed out on Champions League qualification on goal difference last year, this is the situation that the Villans find themselves in.
As frustrating as this could prove to be, it may be the perfect opportunity to get minutes in the tank for the likes of Harvey Elliott and Sancho.
The latter is hugely deserving of a start and needs to be handed that opportunity to prove himself from the outset, with the chance of making his Villa Park debut.
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