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#1 Resurgent Alexis Sanchez steals the show
Alexis Sanchez had been struggling with poor form and injuries since his switch to Manchester United from Arsenal. The 30-year-old winger who United purchased during the January transfer window in the 2017-18 season had made just under 50 appearances for the Red Devils, with many of them coming from the bench.
Today at the Estadio Morumbi, the Chilean winger showed the world why he was one of the best players in the Premier League with a typical Alexis Sanchez display. The former Arsenal man was on-song all evening as he toyed with the young and inexperienced Japanese side.
The winger looked very dangerous right from the start, dragging his shot wide on a couple of occasions in the first half. The Japanese defence tried desperately to disrupt the rhythm of the Manchester United man, as they constantly fouled the 30-year old.
The day though had the Chilean No.7's name written all over it. After going 2-0 up after 54 minutes courtesy of goals from Eric Pulgar and Eduardo Vargas, La Roja suddenly took their foot off the gas as the Asian side slowly started asserting themselves on the match.
After almost half an hour of Japanese dominance, the Chilean side suddenly sprung to life. A teasing ball lobbed into the penalty box by Charles Aranguiz was met headed in by Sanchez, as Chile went 3-0 up to put down any fears of a Japanese revival. Sanchez had more reason to rejoice as he finally ended a five-month goal drought dating back to January.
Much more joy was to follow as a brilliant ball by the Manchester United man in the very next minute set Eduardo Vargas up to score his second of the night. Sanchez capped his all-round brilliant display by winning the man of the match award.
The match proved to be more of a statement by Sanchez, as the forward looks to get back to the form that made him one of the most feared wingers in the Premier League.
