Juan Mata outruns Alexis Sanchez: The Chilean forward is currently out of action due to injury.
Alexis Sanchez has suffered a major decline in form ever since his transfer to Manchester United in the January transfer window. The Chilean winger signed for United in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and is currently the highest-paid player at the club.
However, Sanchez has done little to justify his astronomical wages.
The forward has scored only four goals since joining United. In this season, the only goal he scored came against Newcastle United, where Mourinho’s side came from 0-2 to beat Benitez’s men 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Independent has now reported that things have been so bad for the Chilean forward, that he was beaten in sprints by United’s midfielder, Juan Mata. Here are the full details:
Juan Mata outruns Alexis Sanchez:
The Spanish midfielder is not known for his pace, and is comfortably one of the slowest players at the club. However, Sanchez’s decline has been such, that he lost in sprints to Mata during a training session.
In his piece about Sanchez’s decline at Manchester United, Miguel Delaney also wrote that Arsene Wenger ‘wondered’ why United went for the Chilean forward at the first place. The Frenchman believed that Sanchez was not a player made for Mourinho’s style of football.
Describing the incident about Mata beating the Chilean international in sprints, Delaney wrote, “There was already the feeling Sanchez may be facing physical burn-out in his last season at Arsenal.
“This was, after all, an all-action forward who so often pushed himself into what Arsene Wenger described as “the red zone”, and was playing 38 games in a season as long ago as 2005.
“That’s a lot of wear and tear, and one reason why Juan Mata is said to have beaten him in sprints at United. It is all one big reason Arsenal eventually gave the go-ahead to let him go.”
The two Manchester clubs were thought to have been competing each other for the signature of Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean forward, meanwhile, is reportedly unhappy at the club, and his relationship with Jose Mourinho isn’t an ideal sample of a player-manager bond, according to reports.
What next?
Manchester United will return to action later tonight as they face Alexis Sanchez’s former club, Arsenal at Old Trafford. The Chilean would be unavailable for the game due to injury.
Mourinho’s side is desperate to return to winning ways after three winless games on a trot in the league. United were held by a relegation-threatened Southampton last weekend.
