‘Embarrassing’ – Man United loanee Jadon Sancho decision explained during Man City win

Jadon Sancho’s frustration over game time at Aston Villa continued on Sunday as he was replaced after being introduced earlier on in the game by Unai Emery

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has explained why Jadon Sancho was taken off after being brought on in the first half of their 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester City on Sunday.

Sancho was called upon in the 29th minute when Emiliano Buendia came off with an injury. Villa had just gone ahead through Matty Cash’s long-range effort before Emery was forced into a change.

Since his late summer loan move from Manchester United, Sancho has seen limited game time. Prior to the win over City, he had just made one appearance in the Premier League, coming off the bench in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland.

He did start in the Europa League defeat to Go Ahead Eagles last week after returning from illness, before being handed more league minutes on Sunday. However, he didn’t last long at Villa Park and returned to the substitute bench in the 74th minute.

Emery introduced Evann Guessand to help see out the victory, replacing Sancho. As he exited the pitch, the 25-year-old cut a disappointed figure, seeming to avoid Emery before sitting down in the dugout.

After the match, Emery was questioned about Sancho’s double substitution, and the Villa boss explained how the plan was always to give the United loanee limited minutes to build his match fitness.

“Yes, sure he’s not happy, but I did it before with Morgan Rogers, with Emiliano Buendia, with Leon Bailey, and he played 60 minutes on Thursday,” he explained.

“Today when he (Buendia) was injured, my plan was maybe in case he (Sancho) was going to play 30 minutes, but I decided to play more and he played 45 minutes. But my plan was when he was swapped with Emiliano Buendia, the idea was maybe not playing all the minutes until the last moment.

“I told him as well, he can feel it, it’s embarrassing. Before Morgan, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey, they felt the same when I subbed them, but it was not a punishment. And now it’s not a punishment.”