Jadon Sancho experienced an awkward moment when he was intentionally ignored by one of his new teammates at Borussia Dortmund while appealing to take a penalty during his second full debut for the German club.
Fresh from completing his six-month loan move back to his former club Dortmund, having been sidelined at Manchester United, Sancho found himself fouled inside the 18-yard box as they led Koln 1-0 away from home with nearly an hour played on Saturday.
The 23-year-old loanee, who had a falling out with United manager Erik ten Hag back in September, insisted to striker Niclas Fullkrug: "Give me the ball, give me the ball."
But Fullkrug, who did not play alongside Sancho during his initial tenure at Dortmund from 2017 to 2021, declined to heed his new teammate, and the German international took the penalty. Fortunately for the German heavyweights, Fullkrug scored to make it 2-0, and he and Sancho were all smiles following their awkward exchange.
Three minutes later, it became 3-0 as Dutch striker Donyell Malen secured his second goal of the game. While substitute Youssoufa Moukoko made it 4-0 in added time, Sancho was substituted in the 66th minute, having completed the most dribbles (four) and won the most fouls (three) of any player in the Bundesliga clash, which was delayed in the first half due to fan protests.
After Malen gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, Cologne supporters threw chocolate coins onto the pitch. An eight-minute delay ensued as fans expressed their opposition to the introduction of private equity investors in the German top flight.
Recently, clubs in the Bundesliga and the German second tier participated in a vote that would involve selling around eight per cent of the respective leagues' TV and marketing rights. Out of the 36 teams across the two divisions, 24 supported the plans.
The potential deal is anticipated to be a 20-year agreement and could be valued at up to €1 billion (£860 million), but fans are not enthusiastic. Matches involving supporters from Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Borussia Monchengladbach all witnessed protests ahead of the initial vote. A final decision is expected in March.
In Cologne, Sancho would have been focused on his football, having come off the bench and provided an assist away to Darmstadt last Saturday. The 23-time capped England international had last played a competitive match in August, with Ten Hag publicly criticizing his training performances and Sancho responding on social media.
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this month when asked about Sancho, Ten Hag explained: "After he was signed, one year before (I arrived), there were issues. We've had issues all the way through (Sancho's time at Old Trafford). So you can make out that his stay here at Manchester United, so far, is not a success.
"So now he's going back to Borussia Dortmund and I wish him the best of luck. I hope, we hope, that he does very well there and he will be successful. Then we will see what's going to happen."
