With certain players in the Premier League, there is an expectation you know what to expect. Alexis Sanchez is without a shadow of a doubt one of them.
Drive, determination and delivery are just three aspects associated with Chilean’s game, and week on week Manchester United supporters are fortunate to witness them consistently.
Time and time again opposition sides decide to create a specific gameplan to prevent Sanchez becoming a substantial impact on the result and the game, sacrificing players to make sure that through balls are not swept through the channels, and that space in behind the midfield is limited.
Sanchez’s tenacity is boundless. Never satisfied, the continual ideal to improve is a blessing for the rest of his team-mates. He is the agenda and more importantly an example for the rest. Yes, you can be a player synonymous with outlandish technique and trickery, but if you fail to put the yards in when the going gets tough then you aren’t made to be a United player.
Perhaps it is no surprise then that the Chilean has already gotten used to collecting man of the match awards already. Tottenham Hotspur knew how to contain the maverick, but for a team like Huddersfield, on a run like they were, it was always going to be tough.
The goal was a fantastic and symbolic moment for Sanchez, being his first goal for the Red Devils, yet look at the stats and the list becomes endless. Always looking to drive forward into opposition territory, Sanchez’s six shots, three of which were on target, were signifying of a man confident in his own ability.
Throughout the 90 minutes, Huddersfield’s back-line must’ve thought here we go again, when Sanchez picked up the ball from midfield and started to charge at them like one of those raging bulls in the Spanish corrida.
Just before half-time, The Terriers had done well to prevent United from creating any significant opportunities, with Romelu Lukaku, stifled up-front. To be honest, the implementation of a 4-2-3-1 formation didn’t aid the situation either.
Yet it was Sanchez who still created a chance out of nothing, and if it wasn’t for the quick reactions of Jonas Lossl at his near post, the deadlock would’ve been broken. It was a sign of things to come.
What was most impressive about Sanchez wasn’t his eager-eyed vision for goal, but the ability to shrug off countless challenges, dust himself down and then make crucial tackles when United lost the ball.
The completion of nine take-ons and five successful tackles optimises the aura of Sanchez. Attitude is everything for a United player and the Chilean yesterday turned the Theatre of Dreams into a cinematic experience.