3 players who have regressed under Mourinho at Manchester United

Which pl
Which players have regressed under the management of Jose Mourinho?

#2 Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United v Leicester City - Premier League
Mourinho has subdued Sanchez's performances in just 8 months

Alexis Sanchez arrived at Old Trafford in January of this year as a major coup for the Manchester club. The signing of the Chilean from Arsenal made a statement about United's ambition, ability to attract star players from rival teams, and continuing financial power in spite of a lack of domestic success.

Sanchez moved from London to Manchester as a proven Premier League player and one of the best talents in the league. Over the course of four seasons at the Emirates, the 29-year-old had become the main man at Arsenal, making 122 appearances and scoring 60 goals.

Surely nothing could wrong with a player who could simply slot into the United starting XI and start creating and scoring goals as he did at Arsenal?

Well, yes something could and did go wrong. The Chilean badly struggled to adapt to Mourinho's style of play and tactics.

Going from a creative free role and main goalscoring threat at the Emirates to being locked in a strict wide role at Manchester United hampered the natural talents of Sanchez and his performance levels significantly dropped during the second half of last season.

During the first half of the 2017/18 season at Arsenal, Sanchez operated as an attacking midfielder, just behind the striker for the most part. As soon as he joined Manchester United, his position was inexplicably changed to a left winger as part of a front three behind Lukaku.

It is very obvious that Sanchez plays his best football in the middle of the field just behind the main striker, yet Mourinho refuses to give the Chilean game time there. This has led to the 29-year-old scoring only twice in 13 appearances for United and generally playing far below his expected standards.

Of course, there is an argument that he needed six months to settle in at Old Trafford and will perform at a higher level this season. However, the issue currently lies squarely on the shoulders of Jose Mourinho who must allow Sanchez to play in his best position to get the most out of the Chilean.

As it stands, Alexis Sanchez is a shadow of the player who thrilled in Arsenal colours for four seasons.

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Edited by Sripad
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