Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Daniel Davis

Mon 20 April 2026 8:10, UK

Jadon Sancho was extremely fortunate that he didn’t cost Aston Villa victory against Sunderland after delivering a nightmarish second-half display on Sunday.

Villa looked on course to cruise to all three points at Villa Park after storming into a 3-1 lead, but they were pegged back on level terms in the space of just a minute at the death.

Sancho was guilty of losing the ball before Trai Hume halved the deficit, and another mistake from the winger seconds later allowed Wilson Isidor to score the equaliser.

The ace had only been on the pitch for six minutes, but fortunately, his blushes were spared when Tammy Abraham touched in Lucas Digne’s cross for the last-gasp winner.

Villa’s win saw them tighten their grip on a Champions League spot, but either way, Sancho’s errors all but confirmed he will not be staying at the club beyond the summer.

How did Jadon Sancho play vs Sunderland?

It spoke volumes that Sancho reportedly looked emotional at the full-time whistle. He was consoled by Damian Vidagany as he headed straight down the tunnel.

The 26-year-old likely realised that his dismal cameo had brought to an end any fleeting hopes that he would be able to remain in the Midlands – a cruel coda indeed.

His FotMob statistics told a truly damning story.

Sancho took just five touches in his 10-minute outing and completed only one of his three attempted passes. He also failed to win a single duel on the ground or in the air.

Making matters worse, his only dribble was unsuccessful.

Unai Emery would have expected the loanee to give Villa an added injection of energy to get them over the line, but the substitution instead horribly backfired.

Unai Emery defends Sancho

However, Emery was quick to insist that Sunderland’s comeback was not Sancho’s fault.

Asked about the winger’s mistakes post-match, the Villa boss cut a journalist off before they could finish their question, instead pinning the blame on wider team failings.

“It is not his mistake. The mistake is how we did this action,” said Emery. “If we did more passes, we could have avoided it.”

That may well be the case, but Sancho will know more than most that such glaring errors are usually punished at the top level. That was proved again on Sunday.

While Villa will go marching on into the Champions League, they will do so without the ace, who will face an uncertain future when he returns to Manchester United.