Patrick Rees
Manchester United eased past League Two strugglers Yeovil Town 4-0 in the 4th round of the FA Cup in a game which saw United’s latest acquisition Alexis Sanchez get involved in the first two goals.
The Chilean, who completed his move to Manchester United on Monday, was deployed on the right-wing with Marcus Rashford given the nod to start as the No.9. Despite United being at full throttle, it was Yeovil who came close to scoring in the early parts of the game after Jordan Green went through on goal. Sergio Romero, however, did his job and denied the 22-year-old with ease.
Alexis Sanchez, on his part, was involved in all of Manchester United’s attack and it was his pass which Marcus Rashford eventually ended into the back of the net. Of course, the English international needed a bit of luck, but a goal is a goal no matter how.
Just a minute after the hour mark, the 29-year-old was once again involved in a deadly counter and in a brilliant run of play, he found Ander Herrera making his run on the left. The Spaniard still had a lot of work to do but he slotted home United’s second goal with relative ease. It was Ander Herrera’s second goal in as many appearances against Yeovil Town.
United delivered the third blow when Jesse Lingard made a brilliant run through the right channel, skipping past Yeovil’s defence in no time to put the Somerset side to the sword. The final nail was hammered by Romelu Lukaku in the closing minute and this gave Jose Mourinho his 62nd win in his first 100 games. Talking numbers, Alexis Sanchez’s assist means he has now been directly involved in 15 goals in 15 appearances in the FA Cup (8 goals and 7 assists).
Enjoying a whopping 74% possession, United managed 19 shots with 7 of them coming on target. Also, it was Marcus Rashford’s 10th goal of the season and the 20-year-old is now the 4th different Manchester United player to have scored 10 or more goals in all competitions in 2017-18 with Lukaku, Lingard and Anthony Martial having already entered double digits. Having said that, this is how United fans reacted to Alexis Sanchez’s debut:
Better than Hazard
— Ché (@AtomicAlexis) January 26, 2018
He was so class man. Arsenal fans literally counted the amount of times he gave the ball away but honestly he was so good for us.
— Dyl. (@UtdDyl) January 26, 2018
Lol Elneny is crying
— M U S A (@Alkalee_Musa) January 26, 2018
Joyful. Alexis, marked his debut with 2 assists. #MUFC
— Kε̲̣и̣̣и̣̣¥ sharp™🐦 (@iam_kennysharp) January 26, 2018
Best player in the world❤❤❤❤❤❤💪
— Majid Heydari (@MajidHeydari14) January 26, 2018
Mate you have to relax, Alexis just played against a league two team. pic.twitter.com/l0nfdNL908
— makeyen (@sebasti58347697) January 26, 2018
@Alexis_Sanchez has the ability, commitment and drive to potentionally become @ManUtd most important and influential number 7.
— Liam murphy (@Liammurphy56) January 27, 2018
Loved Sanchez wanting the ball every minute of the game , telling players where to be , hes class , clearly big enough to fill that 7 Shirt #mufc #Alexis7
— OneUnited® (@jayutd19) January 27, 2018
Sanchez is so tiny smh need to see him standing between Ibra and Pogba.
— TONY. (@RatedSK4Real) January 27, 2018
Felicidades por tu debut 💫🔥 No Milly Rock Tonight But Soon Land 🕺🏼 @Alexis_Sanchez pic.twitter.com/IqEn8R4cDN
— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) January 26, 2018
Meanwhile, there was praise for Jesse Lingard’s goal as well
12 – Jesse Lingard has scored 12 goals for @ManUtd in all competitions this term; one more than he did in the previous two seasons combined (11). Groove. pic.twitter.com/H03PkUBVzM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 26, 2018
Messi Lingard
— David🎧🔴 (@Ilpogba) January 26, 2018
Don’t forget to add…Twice Cristiano Ronaldo’s domestic goals this season. The difference!
— Muneer’ A. Sowole 🇳🇬🌍☪️✍️ (@QcLein) January 26, 2018
Mourinho nurturing young British talent for you
— Glyn Jelley (@Jelpiero) January 26, 2018
What a big talent, what a quality!!
— Dami_NT (@daminat96) January 26, 2018
He really turned up in those big matches……..
— Alex Holmes (@AlexHolmes) January 26, 2018
Lingard doesn’t do tap-ins. What a season for him. Most improved player in the Prem?
— James Robson (@JamesRobsonMEN) January 26, 2018
