SANCHEZ BEATS THE HEAVY MOB
Sanchez rises above bully boy tactics as Mourinho praises star man’s desire
FOR 24 minutes it was painful. The little man, wearing that fabled No 7 jersey, had spent his time wincing and grimacing after a succession of heavy tackles.
This wasn’t the picture Alexis Sanchez would have had in his mind for his first Manchester United start at Old Trafford but that had been the reality.
Huddersfield’s plan, evidently, revolved around bullying the Chilean and trying to muscle him out of the game.
As it turned out, it was the worst thing they could have done. Rather than intimidating Sanchez, the heavy treatment lit a fuse and from the moment he skipped past Tommy Smith in the 25th minute and cracked a shot at Jonas Lossl, his persistence and aggression drove Huddersfield to distraction.
A king’s ransom has been invested in Sanchez to be a game-changer and that is what he showed himself to be here. He would go on to score a goal, rammed home at the second attempt after his initial penalty had been saved, but it was his all-round performance that had manager Jose Mourinho purring.
‘This is his character,’ said Mourinho, who had seen Romelu Lukaku’s 54th-minute strike end Huddersfield’s resistance. ‘He is a fantastic player but he is not a pri- madonna. He’s a humble guy, who doesn’t forget where he started.
‘When he was playing in Chile, he had difficult places to play, difficult opponents. I think he’s used to that (kind of tackling). Referees have to analyse the game and make decisions. That’s it. He was completely dead (on his feet) by the end of the game but enjoying the dynamic of the team.’
Sanchez was the reason the locals could smile as they left after what was an emotionally charged occasion, this being the home game closest to the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster; the hush that had descended over the stadium for the minute’s silence raising goosebumps.
When the game started, however, United were confronted by a team in no mood to roll over. Huddersfield had been abject four days earlier in a 3-0 home defeat by Liverpool and David Wagner set up his team to stifle and suffocate the space in which United hoped to play.
‘I wanted us to stay stable and compact,’ said visiting boss Wagner. ‘I wanted us to frustrate them for as long as we could.’
Every tackle meant the world to Wagner’s players but their physical approach began to eat away at Mourinho, particularly in the 18th minute when left-back Terence Kongolo clattered into Scott McTominay in the area. Only referee Stuart Attwell will know why he did not award a penalty.
Slowly, the disruption of play and heavy challenges gnawed away at Mourinho. However, he came close to overstepping the mark when asking for a yellow card to be shown when Rajiv van La Parra, who had been lying on the floor claiming he was injured, then jumped up to chase a ball.
United were operating on another level to Huddersfield and he was concerned territorial dominance would not end a tangible reward.
‘At half-time when it is 0-0, you feel the pressure,’ said Mourinho. ‘It was important to stay calm and keep the identity of the team. Do not go long when you have players better with the ball at their feet.’
One of those was Sanchez. Fittingly, he was involved in the move that secured the breakthrough when he pilfered the ball from Florent Hadergjonaj, fed it to Nemanja Matic, who in turn found Juan Mata. The Spaniard’s cross was hammered in by Lukaku.
‘When it goes 1-0, the game is ours,’ said Mourinho. He was right.
Huddersfield have not scored in the Premier League in 2018 and never remotely threatened David De Gea. Sanchez, by contrast, was always on the scene and in the 67th minute, he got what he hopes will be the first of many goals in front of the Stretford End, finishing at the second attempt after Lossl had kept out his spot-kick which he had won after being chopped by Michael Hefele.
‘It was not a dream goal for Alexis,’ said Mourinho. ‘But it shows his attention to detail, his reaction and his desire. For me? That’s fine.’