The wheel away, the knee slide and the double fist-pump goal celebration said it all. Alexis Sanchez had broken through a testing period at Manchester United - and it couldn’t be more timely.
During the international break, manager Jose Mourinho’s January transfer coup from Arsenal was on duty with Chile and admitted candidly that his Old Trafford baptism hadn’t lived up to his own expectations.
“As I am self-demanding, I expected something better,” the forward said. It was an honest appraisal of the opening two months of his Reds career. Alexis cited a first ever mid-season switch as part of the reason why he has found it difficult to settle down and make an instant impact.