Chelsea game has bad memories for misfiring Sanchez
ALEXIS Sanchez hardly needs any further motivation. On the back of a dramatic winner in front of the Stretford End and an assist for Chile in his first international since March, United’s No.7 returns to London to face Chelsea.
It will bring back memories. Some good – an FA Cup final goal while at Arsenal – and some not so good. Sanchez has had a number of anonymous displays for United but he really struggled to make his mark against Chelsea in May.
And things went wrong before a ball was even kicked at Wembley. As the two teams lined up in single file in the tunnel pre-match, Sanchez and Eden Hazard were the final two players to make their way out onto the field.
Hazard could not help but laugh when he noticed Sanchez’s young mascot was the same size as him as they passed the double doors before coming into full view of the world’s television cameras.
Sanchez, fearing going viral for all the wrong reasons, quickly swapped with Paul Pogba ahead of him before any one else noticed. The 29-year-old looked startled from that moment, like he had been put off, and struggled to catch fire in a stadium where he has scored eight goals for club and country.
Hazard, meanwhile, ultimately proved the difference – winning and converting Chelsea’s penalty a short while later. What a difference to a few weeks previously when Sanchez had been throwing his shirt into the away end at Wembley and kicking footballs into an empty net to loud cheers from the United fans.
Getting his side back into that semi-final against Spurs felt like a big moment for Sanchez’s United career but it was a long while before he enjoyed a moment quite like that.
For a player who had Cristiano Ronaldo posters on his walls as a teenager, scoring a last-minute winner against Newcastle at Old Trafford was the stuff of dreams. Now it is about building on that.
Sanchez’s work rate has never been the issue behind the scenes at United and his performances in training have stunned his teammates at various points.
But if anyone knows he has to prove his worth when it matters most, it is Sanchez himself.
“The truth is that Alexis has a lot to prove but sometimes players go through tough times,” a source close to the player previously told M.E.N. Sport.
“He is happy in Manchester and knows he has a lot to deliver.”
Jose Mourinho felt Sanchez would take time to adjust to his new surroundings following his mid-season arrival and believed a rare summer without international commitments would help him.
He started pre-season like a man with a point to prove, but it just has not clicked ever since.
Mourinho has tried jolting him – leaving him out of the match day squad at the London Stadium – and even moved him out of his preferred position on the left wing. Neither has worked. Whether that winner against Newcastle ultimately proves a turning point remains to be seen.