Alexis Sanchez spark still missing for Manchester United
Super Cup.
Its first setback of the season left Barcelona level with Real Madrid at the top of the league on 13 points.
Messi put Barcelona ahead in the 19th when he used his left boot to stab in a pass from Arturo Vidal after the midfielder had won the ball.
Messi had already gone close to scoring what would have been a brilliant goal when he dribbled around three defenders, sending two of them to the turf, before his low shot was After a rare tournament-free summer and with a full preseason under his belt, Alexis Sanchez was expected to be a key performer for Manchester United in the early weeks of the Premier League.
He’d be fresh while other teammates fought weariness from the World Cup. Finally, we’d see the best of the Chile forward after his January move from Arsenal. It hasn’t turned out that way. Sanchez lasted only 63 minutes in United’s 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday before he was substituted. The sight of him trudging off the field mid-match has become familiar – he has only played the full 90 minutes once this season.
He has yet to score a goal – in fact it’s now 831 minutes since Sanchez last hit the back of the net in the Premier League – and he completed only 23 of his 33 passes in the game against Wolves, lower than any other outfield United player. tipped wide by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
The Argentina forward also hit the crossbar with a free kick before Pique made up for his sluggish defending on both of Stuani’s goals by heading Barcelona level.
“This guy’s been bright so far,” United tweeted from its official account just before halftime, alongside a picture of Sanchez on the ball. The replies, mostly saying the opposite, were long and hardly flattering.
Since arriving at Old Trafford, Sanchez has struggled to show the flair and dynamism that marked his 3 1/2 years at Arsenal and, before that, at Barcelona and Udinese. He has scored three goals in 23 games, and his truly memorable moments can be counted on one hand.
At Arsenal, Sanchez was allowed to play with freedom under Arsene Wenger. Playing on the left or as the lone striker, he could drift around the field mostly to his liking. He was the main man, along with Mesut Ozil.
At United, he plays with more defensive responsibilities under Jose Mourinho and he seems subdued and restricted. He is reportedly the team’s highest earner but isn’t justifying the lofty salary. Last season, in a game at Crystal Palace in March, he gave the ball away a staggering 34 times.
Perhaps just as importantly, his arrival has had a negative impact on Anthony Martial and, maybe to a lesser extent, Marcus Rashford, who shared left-wing duties before Sanchez came.
It begs the question: Did Mourinho really need to buy Sanchez? Surely there were more necessary areas to improve, like at centre back – a position that was Mourinho’s major bugbear in preseason.
We’ll never know if the 29year-old Sanchez would have fitted in better at Manchester City, which he snubbed at the last minute to seal a move to United – a team he described as “the biggest club in the world.” He would likely have had more opportunity to flaunt his attacking prowess under a more offensivelooking coach in Pep Guardiola.
“I think we are going to see the best Alexis,” United teammate Ander Herrera said during the team’s preseason tour of the United States, when Sanchez was one of United’s better players.
Now the real test has started, United fans are still waiting.