PL 2018/19: Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City; 3 key battles that decided the game

#1 Alexis Sanchez vs himself

A lacklustre day for the Chilean down the left

Whatever happened to the Alexis Sanchez who had the world at his feet when playing for Arsenal? His winter move to Manchester last winter did not yield the expected results, and it was chalked down to not sufficient exposure to the diagonally opposite philosophies of Mourinho from that of Arsene Wenger.

Now, one summer of complete rest on account of Chile not qualifying to play in Russia, and a whole preseason with the team later, not much seemed to have changed. It took 75 minutes for Sanchez to produce his first good pass of the night - a chance Lukaku failed to convert, and he followed it up with a ball over the top to Mata sometime later, but that was it.

When did #sanchez forget how to pass a ball? I thought a summer off and a good pre season might have brought him back to his previous self. Guess not #MUNLEI

— Chris Irwin (@chrisirwin5) August 10, 2018

Until then, it was Sanchez screwing up things for himself, and for the team, in the process. He slowed down attacks that should have flowed down the wings; he stopped unnecessarily and squared the ball off to unsuspecting teammates; he tried one-twos with teammates who had long since moved on; it was the Sanchez United fans had gotten used to, and sadly so.

Manchester United have Martial waiting on the bench, and when Lukaku returns, so will Rashford. Sanchez cannot afford to spend too long a time getting his head in, and neither can Mourinho. The sooner things get sorted down the left, the better.