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Jadon Sancho aimed a thinly-veiled dig at his former Manchester United managers after hitting the high point of his loan spell with Aston Villa. Sancho, 25, finall scored his first goal for Unai Emery's side, as they beat Turkish giants Fenerbahce 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday

The result means that Villa have already qualified for the last 16 of the competition with a game to spare. Sancho's header in the 25th minute was enough to seal all three points in Istanbul, and he was a constant threat until Emery brought him off in the closing stages.

The United loanee is enjoying playing under Emery, who he was asked about post-match. "He just keeps on telling me to be positive every time I play," Sancho told TNT Sports.

"It's nice to have a manager who backs you and obviously believes in you. Again, every opportunity I get, I'm going to try and do 100 per cent, and hopefully I can deliver more goals."

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Sancho is clearly feeling the benefit of being 'backed', having felt cast aside at Old Trafford. The winger infamously had a bust-up with ex-United manager Erik ten Hag, leading to two separate loan moves.

When he returned from a spell at Chelsea, Sancho was made part of a five-man bomb squad and didn't play a single game during Ruben Amorim's tenure. His contract with the Red Devils expires in June, coinciding with the end of his loan at Villa, but United have the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

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For now, he's fully focused on life at Villa Park. "I just take it day by day in training," Sancho went on to say. "Obviously, the manager and the team are helping me to get to my best.

"Honestly, I know I can do a lot more. I'm very hard on myself in that aspect. But again, I'm very grateful that I got my first goal for Aston Villa and I hope it continues."

Villa travel to Newcastle on Sunday for what promises to be another difficult away game. They remain third in the Premier League table following last weekend's surprise 1-0 loss at home to Everton, denting their hopes of chasing down current leaders Arsenal in the title race.

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