Jadon Sancho scores his first goal of 2025 with stunning strike to rescue point for Chelsea vs Ipswich

Jadon Sancho netted his first goal of 2025 to equalise for Chelsea in their 2-2 draw against Ipswich.

The Blues went 2-0 down in the first half at Stamford Bridge after goals from Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson.

But an Axel Tuanzebe own goal in the first minute of the second half gave Enzo Maresca’s side hope.

Sancho – who had only been brought on as a substitute 11 minutes earlier – then restored parity for the Blues on 79 minutes with a stunner.

From a short corner, the winger received the ball on the edge of the area before rolling the ball on to his right foot and curling it into the top corner.

Goalkeeper Alex Palmer made a despairing dive attempt to save the shot but got nowhere near it, with Sancho wheeling away to celebrate.

It is the England international’s first goal since December as he battles to prove himself to Chelsea ahead of his – as of now – move to Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis in the summer.

The Blues have an obligation to buy Sancho from Manchester United for £25 million, though the Daily Mail report that there is a loophole in his loan contract that allows them to terminate that agreement.

However, in order to do so Chelsea would need to pay a fixed fee of £5 million to United, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

Speaking to BBC Sport in March, United minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed that the club were still paying instalments from when they signed Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.

He explained: “If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we are buying Antony, we are buying Casemiro, we are buying Andre Onana, we are buying Rasmus Hojlund, we are buying Jadon Sancho.

“For Sancho, who obviously now plays for Chelsea, and we pay half his wages, we are paying £17m to buy him in the summer.

“So it takes time for us to move away from the past into a new place in the future.”