Alexis right at home at home of football!
PLAYERS often have teams they relish playing against.
United fans need no reminding of Wayne Rooney’s incredible goalscoring record against Newcastle where he hit 13 in 21 appearances in a Reds shirt.
Romelu Lukaku has a fondness for playing West Ham and has scored 11 in 13.
Alexis Sanchez is slightly different. He loves Wembley Stadium.
For club and country, the Chilean has netted eight goals in eight appearances at the national stadium and has the chance to add to that in today’s FA Cup final against Chelsea.
The forward has not set the world alight since his move to Old Trafford, but he has blazed brightly on his regular visits to the home of football – most recently during United’s 2-1 semi-final win over Tottenham.
Sanchez’s man-of-the-match performance against Spurs in April was undoubtedly one of his best for the Reds since swapping north London for the north west of England, and United fans will hope he continues his fine Wembley form.
His equaliser that day set the Reds on their way to victory, and he will look to score his third FA Cup final goal, after netting for Arsenal when winning the tournament with the Gunners in 2015 and 2017.
In fac t, in his two triumphs with the Gunners he scored in both the semi-final and the final – a third time would be quite the charm for a player still adjusting to life at Old Trafford.
If he continues his record, he will cause all sorts of problems to the Chelsea defence, as he did in the 2017 final with yet another man-of- the-match performance at Wembley.
And it’s not just in the FA Cup in which Sanchez has enjoyed himself at Wembley.
Before he moved to England, he visited with the Chilean national side for a friendly in November 2013 when Roy Hodgson was preparing for his first World Cup in charge of the Three Lions.
Sanchez stole the show. His brace was the end of England’s 10-game unbeaten run and the beginning of his impressive record.
He has scored on all but two of his visits to Wembley and can prove to be the key man once again today.
After a below-par first four months in Manchester, Sanchez will be keen to prove why his signature was so coveted by Jose Mourinho – and City boss Pep Guardiola – and what better stage to do it on.
With the last silverware of the season on the line, his Wembley pedigree should give fans confidence of a big performance and give Sanchez confidence of a third FA Cup winner’s medal.