Alexis Sanchez's imminent Man Utd arrival fires up Anthony Martial and Romlu Lukaku
As Jose Mourinho sat in the press conference room at Turf Moor, satisfied by Manchester United’s seventh away victory in the Premier League this season, he insisted the imminent arrival of Alexis Sanchez was governed solely by a need to provide some competition among his forwards. He had plenty of defensive and midfield options. But up front, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic once more indisposed, he has only three players to choose from.
‘‘We need that extra internal competition,” he said. Whether those were the precise words used in the lengthy negotiations with the Chilean – ‘‘to be honest Alexis, we only want you to keep Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford on their toes” – appears unlikely. And £400,000 a week seems a sizeable return for someone whose principal purpose is to make others better.
But there was a sense in this bruising victory that both Martial and Lukaku are already benefiting from feeling the potential new arrival’s breath on their collar. They conjured up a superb goal here to win the match. Lukaku, widely criticised as having have a poor touch for a big man, created it with a lovely pass after battling his way through the Burnley backline. But it was the clinical aplomb of
Martial’s finish that stood out, as he deceived Nick Pope in goal before shooting with real conviction.
‘‘We know when we put him in the one-v-one situation with a full back it’s difficult for the full back because he has so many attributes,” said Mourinho of the Frenchman. ‘‘He can go inside, can go outside, he can shoot to the far post, he can shoot to the near post like he did today and he has lots of attributes. So it is one more reason to be happy with Romelu because he knew if we put Anthony in a one-on-one situation he is difficult.” Sean
Dyche, the Burnley manager, was no less admiring of the strike.
‘‘It’s a fantastic finish,” he said. ‘‘Sometimes you have to hold your hands up. I have seen it back and he looks for the gap and finds the gap in the top corner, and I think there is often a reason why those footballers move to Man United for 30 million quid.”
Martial’s contribution, however, was a rare moment of quality in a game more attritional than aesthetic. Showing little evidence of a lack of confidence brought on by a poor run, Burnley were tough opponents: organised, spirited, determined. Based around Steven Defour and Jack Cork they have a midfield of pace and intelligence.
How would Alexis Sanchez fit in at Manchester United?
Indeed, what the match demonstrated was that whatever weaknesses in his squad Mourinho is hoping to address with the addition of Sanchez, they do not lie in his defence. This was the fourth clean sheet his team have delivered since the New Year. And this against a Burnley team who chucked everything at them, including the kitchen sink in the shape of Pope trundling forward for a couple of injury-time set pieces, in the desperate scramble for an equaliser.
‘‘That was the defining image,” said Mourinho of the goalkeeper’s intervention. And the smile he wore as he said it suggested that, unlike many of his peers, he is a manager who still prefers a battle to an exhibition.
At the heart of United’s resistance was Phil Jones, who, under Mourinho’s stewardship, is finally looking like the centre back he has long threatened to be. His every touch booed by the home fans for his Blackburn past, Jones was magnificent. With his speed, strength and timing he provided a smothering blanket, ensuring for all Burnley’s drive, David De Gea was only infrequently pressed into service.
‘‘The character and determination we showed, the willingness to fight and close down was terrific,” Jones said. ‘‘And when you come to a place like this, that is what you have to do. I’m pleased for the lads.”
Watching from afar Sanchez must have been pleased too. If and when he finally arrives in Manchester, he will find it something of a new experience playing in a team that gains as much pleasure from stopping the opposition as from scoring themselves.
