Jadon Sancho explains unusual shinpad celebration

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Jadon Sancho explains unusual shinpad celebration

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has explained why he celebrated his Europa League goal on Thursday night with a shinpad featuring a picture of his own face.

Sancho gave United a 17th minute lead against Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova, with Cristiano Ronaldo later going on to secure the 2-0 victory from the penalty spot.

But after smashing the ball home, Sancho whipped off one of his shinpads and held it to the crowd with a thumbs up. It seemed slightly odd at the time, but the 22-year-old later revealed that the special shinpads had been gifted to him by a young fan last week.

“A little kid gave me some shinpads and asked me to wear them,” Sancho explained after the match.

“I said ‘Yeah, no problem’ and that was a little gesture from me when I scored, showing him that I was wearing his shinpads that he gave me.”

Overall, it was an important win for United after defeat in controversial circumstances against Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener a week earlier.

For Sancho, it has been an impressive start to the campaign after a difficult first year at Old Trafford following his £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer. In addition to netting in Europe this week, he has scored twice in the Premier League to help United overcome a poor start.