Sanchez has started just three times under Solskjaer and two of those came in the previous rounds of the FA Cup against Reading and Arsenal. Solskjaer rhapsodised about the 30-year-old ahead of United’s trip to Chelsea but the Norwegian opted for Mata and Lukaku over the Chilean.
When asked to explain his team, Solskjaer told the BBC: “It’s an important game, it’s a trophy that we can challenge for. It is one of the toughest opponents we could have but we have shown over the years that it’s a cup game that will be tight.
The Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he is confident Alexis Sanchez’s form will improve.
Chile forward Sanchez has scored five goals and struggled with injuries since joining from Arsenal in January 2018.
“We know there is a very good player there. It’s like the ketchup bottle. When it comes, it comes, and I’m sure he’ll be fine,” said Solskjaer.
United travel to Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, a game which will be shown live on the BBC.
The most recent of Sanchez’s two goals this season came against Arsenal in the fourth round in January.
Signed on a four-and-a-half-year deal reported to be worth £14m a year, the 30-year-old said in an interview with BBC Sport on Saturday that he “would like to have brought more joy to the club”.
Sanchez was widely criticised for his performance as a substitute in United’s 2-0 home defeat by French champions Paris St-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Solskjaer won the FA Cup as a player with United in 1999 and 2004. That first cup triumph came four days before the stoppage-time winner from the Norwegian that clinched the Champions League and a historic Treble.