- Ole Gunnar Solskjær is confident Alexis Sánchez will start for Manchester United soon
- The ex-Arsenal forward has struggled for form since moving to Old Trafford in January 2018
- Solskjær is hopeful the Chilean will fit in for either of the injured pair - Jesse Lingard or Anthony
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is backing Manchester United forward Alexis Sánchez to get back to scoring form after dismissing suggestions that the Chilean was past his prime.
The former Arsenal forward has netted three goals for the Red Devils in the second stanza of last campaign and once in the Premier League this term – in October – and one goal in the FA Cup fourth-round win against Arsenal.
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Speaking with The Guardian ahead of Manchester United fifth round FA Cup clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Solskjær, who replaced Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford mid-December is confident Sanchez will overcome his injury woes and start scoring again.
“He’s still a young boy. 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.
“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 [eight days ago] when he gets his chance – he is 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 good player there. It’s one of those things.
“You know that bottle of ketchup that you squeeze when it never comes [out] – but when it suddenly comes there’s loads? I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Solskjær added.
The pair of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial are expected to miss three weeks of action after injuries sustained in the 2-0 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
And Solskjær is backing Sánchez to step and fill the vacuum on Monday night.
“We need every player to perform to the best level,” he said. “We are challenging to be top four, challenging against 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 setback with the PSG game, maybe a reality check. Their pride has been hurt. I’m sure they’ll bounce back on Monday,” the Norwegian stressed, even as he dismissed the absence of Martial and Lingard.
“We beat Arsenal in the last Cup round without Anthony and Rashy [Marcus Rashford], now without Anthony and Jesse. I’m sure we’ll conjure something.
“I’m not going to say [the Cup is] the last chance because we are going to go to Paris and give it a go. But the chance of going through there are slimmer than before the [first] game. Everyone loves to play an FA Cup final,” he submitted.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Anthony Martial has sent Manchester United fans into panic after tweeting a throwback photo of himself with a Monaco jersey.
Recently, Martial agreed a new five-year deal with United, ending months of uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford.
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