Solskjaer hopes Alexis Sanchez is like ketchup… you get nothing, then it all comes out
Norwegian is waiting for a goal or star performance to finally unleash the talent the Man Utd boss knows the Chilean has
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OLE SOLSKJAER says getting the best out of Alexis Sanchez is like getting the sauce out of a bottle of ketchup.
No matter how hard you try sometimes it just doesn’t come, then all of a sudden it all gushes out and you can’t stop it.
That is the moment Solskjaer is waiting for - a goal or star performance that will finally unleash the talent the Manchester United boss is convinced the Chilean has.
Solskjaer said: “I think he’s a very good player. He’s very talented, but of course there’s only so many things you can sit down and talk about and tweak.
“You saw against Fulham when he gets his chance – he so sharp in and around the ball, he wins the ball, his energy.
"If he could just get that goal I’m sure that would release his confidence.
"That’s what it’s about when you go through periods when you don’t perform up to your standard because we know there is a very, very good player there.
“It’s like a bottle of ketchup when it never comes, but when it suddenly comes there’s loads. When it comes I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
United fans hungry for something special from Sanchez have been waiting too long it both in the bread and butter of domestic competition or when feasting at the top table in the Champions League.
But Solskjaer refuses to accept Sanchez has gone stale after over a year of underperforming for the Red Devils.
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This despite just five goals in 37 largely forgettable appearances from the club’s highest paid player on £505,000-a-week.
Solskjaer said: “He’s still a young boy. Well he’s a man of 30, but he can still play for many, many years.
“He’s been here for a year, I’ve been here for two months with him and he’s been injured for the first part of it so it’s unfair to just expect him to be at the top straight away.
“I’m sure we’ll see the best of him before the end of the season.”
The thing is they need him to perform right now, starting with tonight’s FA Cup fifth round trip to Chelsea, because they are without Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for up to three weeks through injury.
Both came off injured halfway through the home defeat to PSG last Tuesday and replacements Sanchez and Juan Mata did not step up to the plate.
Romelu Lukaku was not trusted to try and get a goal back until six minutes from time when he was brought on as a substitute.
Although Solskjaer still believes in last season’s top scorer.
He said: “Rom gives us something else from Jesse and Anthony so don’t worry he’s made an impact before and he did really well with Alexis in the FA Cup in the last round so let’s see.”
Tuesday night against PSG was the first defeat under Solskjaer after ten wins and a draw and he is now expecting a response.
He said: “We need every player to perform to the best level.
“We are challenging to be top four, challenging against very very good teams so you need the players to step up now and you expect that at Manchester United at the end of the season.
“We always do well towards the end of the season.
“The players have had this little set back with the PSG game, maybe a reality check. There are quite a few whose pride has been hurt.
“I’m sure they’ll bounce back.”
Despite the apathy in some quarters for the FA Cup Solskjaer’s eyes still light up with memories of beating Newcastle in the 1999 final which he started - the second leg of a treble.
Little did he know what was to come a few days later when he enjoyed an even more incredible game albeit as a late sub in the Champions League final.
He said: “Everyone loves to play an FA Cup final. It’s one of the best memories I’ve got, playing at Wembley when we beat Newcastle.
"I knew I wasn’t going to play the Champions League final from the start so that was going to be my big moment that season, although it turned out it was the Champions League final.”
The FA Cup represents the last chance for United to claim a trophy this season even if Solskjaer has not gived up on turning around the 2-0 first leg deficit from their last 16 Champions League tie with PSG.
He said: “I’m not going to say it’s the last chance because we are going to go to Paris and will give it a go.
“But the chance of going through there is slimmer than before the first leg.
“But the FA Cup final is something we would really want to go to so we are going to go there to try to go through.”
Chelsea in the FA Cup will bring back very different memories for Solskjaer than that final against Newcastle.
It was against them that Solskjaer played his final game in the 2007 Final coming on as an extra time sub just before Didier Drogba scored the only goal to win the game.
He said: “I’m not going to show clips of that game, that’s for sure. I came on with five minutes to go and was going to take a penalty and then we lost.
“But we’ve done well against Chelsea down there and we’ve lost a few. Let’s see what kind of messages we give them.”