Borussia Dortmund inevitably collapsed against Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior but Jamie Gittens still had time to feed Chelsea and Liverpool’s obsession.
Jesse Lingard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fraizer Campbell, Dean Ashton, Chris Kirkland, Chris Powell, Seth Johnson, Tim Sherwood. Morgan Rogers is putting together a compelling case to become the latest addition to that list – of England managers’ first debutants rather than a ranking of Soccer Saturday guests in descending order – but Jamie Gittens should not be ruled out to make a late charge.
The common thread is obvious, even beyond the Borussia Dortmund link. Gittens perhaps did not make a lasting first impression on the new England manager in a six-minute cameo coming on for Jadon Sancho against Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich in March, but the left-winger has maximised his opportunities otherwise.
His Champions League exploits alone have caught the eye. Gittens scored twice against Club Brugge on the first matchday, impressed in the thrashing of Celtic two weeks later and made history to help Dortmund tease a measure of revenge which backfired in hilarious trademark fashion.
Alan Smith can hardly have expected to be mentioned on Tuesday evening but his reign as the youngest Englishman ever to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League is over. Gittens beat the former Leeds forward by about two months with his clever back-post run and simple finish to establish a stunning two-goal lead over the holders after half an hour.
There would have been decent odds on Gittens being the first Englishman to score at the Bernabeu this season, but such are the struggles of Jude Bellingham that the honour had not been handed out by late October. His part in the ultimate and inevitable comeback was minimal as Carlo Ancelotti continues in his maddening mission to make sense of these wonderful ingredients.
It does not feel like a coincidence that the tide turned so soon after Gittens was substituted. Dortmund were leading 2-0, had about half the possession and posed a constant danger on the counter. That went with Gittens in the 55th minute and Real were level by the 62nd, persistent pressure telling once the visitors no longer had an outlet to relieve it.
Dortmund being Dortmund and Real being Real, footballing fate would have transformed this remarkable away win into a rousing home victory regardless. Lucas Vazquez granted them the lead to restore order in the final ten minutes before Vinicius Junior scored twice more to complete his hat-trick while Rio Ferdinand presumably failed to find two words to sum up his thoughts.
But Gittens made his mark in what should be a true breakout season. The minutes are still being drip-fed but the moments are providing a feast for the eyes of watchful clubs.
Chelsea will almost certainly not be able to help themselves when it comes to a 20-year-old English forward with experience in the Manchester City academy set-up. If they can put aside their Declan Rice-related ’embarrassment’ for another who was on their books albeit painfully briefly, yet another Sancho link-up could be in the offing.
Gittens is said to be “dreaming” of a move to Liverpool or Manchester City. And Spurs have been linked too.
It does feel as though Dortmund, chronically desperate as they are to close their eyes and take their hands off the wheel even when cruising, have identified their next €100m cab to leave the rank. Tuchel and England might book in their test drive soon.
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