Sancho relieved to score as Dortmund book place in Champions League quarter-finals

Jadon Sancho said there was “no better feeling” than scoring after his goal helped secure Borussia Dortmund a 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven and progress to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Manchester United loanee opened the scoring in the third minute, his first goal in front of Dortmund’s 82,000-strong home crowd since May 2021.

Marco Reus added a goal in stoppage time to seal the win, putting Dortmund through 3-1 on aggregate, making the last eight for the first time since 2021.

“It was like a relief. I think like all players you want to have a good start to the game, and there’s no better feeling than that,” Sancho told TNT Sports. “I’m just grateful that I could get a goal for the team.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but I felt we’d have the advantage because we’re playing in front of our home fans.”

Sancho, 23, had an unhappy time at Manchester United and had been forced to train away from the first team having fallen out of favour with coach Erik ten Hag.

After making only three appearances in the Premier League this season, the winger arrived in Dortmund for his second spell at the club in January on a six-month loan.

He came into Wednesday’s game saying he could “understand fans getting frustrated” with his output but has now scored twice in two games.

“I’ve always got a special place for Borussia Dortmund,” Sancho said. “This is where I made my name. I have to be grateful to them and to my teammates for believing in me. I’m just happy we got the win today.”

Dortmund manager Edin Terzic, who coached Sancho during the Englishman’s first stint in Germany, praised the winger.

“I’m happy for Jadon that he scored. He had a really great game,” Terzic told reporters. “I think that today Jadon showed us his best performance since he returned to us.”

Terzic said Dortmund and Sancho were being rewarded for their patience.

“It was only seven days ago when everyone was asking ‘What’s happening with Jadon, why hasn’t he scored?’ Now he has two goals.”

Sancho was substituted with 15 minutes remaining while clutching his thigh, but said: “I felt something and I just didn’t want to risk it. We’re gonna check and hopefully it’s nothing.”

Terzic added: “He felt something in his leg, but we hope that he comes through it healthy and that he’ll be available for us this weekend.”

Atletico fight back to reach quarter-finals

Atletico Madrid bounced back from two goals down on aggregate against Inter Milan to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a thrilling 3-2 penalty shoot-out triumph.

Trailing by a single goal after last month’s first leg, Atletico looked dead and buried when Federico Dimarco pushed home Inter’s opener at the Estadio Metropolitano.

But Antoine Griezmann immediately pulled the hosts level on the night and three minutes before the end of the regulation 90 minutes substitute Memphis Depay took the tie to extra time with a fine low finish.

That set up the decisive shoot-out which ended with Inter missing three of their five penalties, star striker Lautaro Martinez handing passage to the last eight to Atletico when he booted his spot-kick way off target.

“I think penalties are a lottery. Today luckily I stopped two,” said Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who saved from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen. “It’s not easy to stop a penalty. Sometimes it looks easy from the outside but it’s not.”

“I’m very, very happy for the team because I think we did a great match,” he added. “We played well. Maybe in the last month we’ve not been in great shape but we showed we can do much more.”