Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he is confident Alexis Sanchez’s form will improve as he likened the Chilean poor form at United to the agonizing wait for ketchup to emerge from a bottle!
Sanchez has endured a difficult 13-month spell at United since his move from Arsenal amid fears his best days are over and will be under renewed pressure to step up now that Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard – two-thirds of Solskjaer’s first choice attack – have been ruled out for up to three weeks through injury.
The Chile star’s United career hit a new low in the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, with an abject second-half display after coming off the bench has started only three of Solskjaer’s 12 games in charge and conceded he has fallen short of expectations, admitting: “I would like to have brought more joy to the club.”
Sanchez turned 30 in December but Solskjaer does not feel that means he should be written off as United prepare for Monday’s FA Cup fifth-round trip to Chelsea.
The Norwegian has backed Sanchez to burst back to form soon as he compared Sanchez to a clogged bottle of ketchup when revealing his ongoing frustrations with the forward.
“I think he is a very good player. He is very talented but of course there is only so many things you can sit down and talk about and tweak,” Solskjaer said.
“You saw against Fulham, when he gets his chance, he is so sharp in and around the ball with the way he wins it and with his energy.
“If he could just get that goal, I am sure that would release some of his confidence. That is what it is about when you go through periods when you do not perform up to your standard.
“We know there is a very, very good player there. It is just like a bottle of ketchup when it never comes but suddenly loads comes out.”
“He can still play for many, many years,” Solskjaer added. “He has been here now for a year.
“I have been here for two months now with him and he has been injured for the first part of it so it is unfair to just expect him to be at the top straight away.
“I am sure we will see the best of him until the end of the season.”