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Jadon Sancho (No.7) think that Borussia Dortmund have the right ingredients on and off the pitch to go all the way this season.
Jadon Sancho (No.7) think that Borussia Dortmund have the right ingredients on and off the pitch to go all the way this season. - © 2018 DFL
Jadon Sancho (No.7) think that Borussia Dortmund have the right ingredients on and off the pitch to go all the way this season. - © 2018 DFL
bundesliga

Jadon Sancho backs "special bond" to fire Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga title charge

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England star Jadon Sancho believes that a “special bond” within the Borussia Dortmund squad can help Lucien Favre’s side win the Bundesliga title.

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Sancho, 18, has been a revelation this season, scoring six goals and making seven more as Dortmund went into the winter break with a six-point advantage over Bayern Munich at the top of the table.

They have also progressed to the last 16 of both the UEFA Champions League and the DFB Cup, but Sancho says that winning the Bundesliga for the first time since 2012 is the club’s priority.

“We can achieve a lot with our squad and our main goal, I think, is to win the league,” Sancho told SportBild.

“I think that’s everyone’s goal in the team. We’re just going to take it game by game, and hopefully we can achieve winning the league.”

Dortmund, who lost just one league game in the first half of the season, will resume after the winter break with a tricky trip to fourth-placed RB Leipzig on 19 January.

That marks the first in a run of eight games before the end of February, during which Die Schwarzgelben will also face Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League and host Werder Bremen in the DFB Cup.

Key to their success over that period could be the form of tricky winger Sancho and club captain Marco Reus. The Londoner was named Bundesliga Player of the Month for October – the same month he signed an improved contract with Dortmund and earned his first senior cap for England.

Reus, meanwhile, took the Player of the Month prize in both September and November, while he has also been nominated for the December award after finishing the Hinrunde with 11 goals and six assists.

On the field Sancho and Reus have developed a brilliant relationship, but the former Watford and Manchester City youngster says that’s something that applies to the whole club.

“Marco Reus is probably one of the special players that I like playing with,” Sancho said.

“But I like playing with all of them because we all have a special bond together - that’s how we’re so strong this season. We all connect very well on and off the training pitch.”

Another player to have lit up the Bundesliga in 2018/19 is Sancho’s compatriot Reiss Nelson. The 19-year-old has thrived at Hoffenheim since joining on loan from Arsenal, and finished the first half of the season with six goals in 13 appearances.

“I’m really happy for him,” Sancho said of the England U21 attacker. “When he did come over I was just telling him just to be positive because obviously he’s away from home. That was the first time he’d moved away from London, so it was a bit difficult for him.

“I try to visit him sometimes and yeah, he’s had a great first half of the season. He’s the top goalscorer in Hoffenheim, so I’m really happy for him.”

Nelson’s performances saw him earn the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Month award for October. If both he and Sancho continue where they left off before Christmas, then 2019 could be a memorable year for Hoffenheim and - in particular - Dortmund.