Alexis Sanchez produced another crisp performance on the ball during Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup.
The Chilean, deployed on the left hand side, struggled for time on the ball during the early stages as the hosts made an ebullient start.
But once he did get the ball at his feet there was little Huddersfield could do, especially with his perfectly weighted assist for Romelu Lukaku in the second half.
Sanchez’s numbers from the game shed light on what was an energetic display from start to finish.
Sánchez’s game by numbers vs. Huddersfield:
1 assist
5 tackles
6 dribbles
31 passes
50% dribbles completed
80% tackles won
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— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 17, 2018
The 29-year-old thrives on constantly having the ball at his feet and plays with a mantra which states that enough time on the ball, with the right attitude, will eventually churn out the right result.
But this was not how Sanchez’s game against Huddersfield panned out. This was not how United’s performance overall panned out. Jose Mourinho’s men had to sit with their backs to the wall at times and pick their punches, riding the storm and finding space on the break.
And in a game defined by moments Sanchez supplied a crucial one, judging the arc of Lukaku’s run perfectly and feeding the ball into the space he was attacking to set United on their way to the quarter-finals.