He has not been in his best form this season
Alexis Sánchez was dropped for Manchester United’s away match against West Ham on Saturday, with Anthony Martial taking his place on the left of United’s attacking trident.
The Chilean has struggled for form this season, with fans growing more tired of his predictable play and lack of goals. Mourinho was equally frustrated it seems, as he reportedly reprimanded Sánchez in front of his United teammates for his poor form before United took on West Ham at the London Stadium, as journalist Maks Cárdenas reports.
Decisión de Mourinho de no convocar a Alexis al partido, pese a viajar a Londres es táctica y no por problemas físicos. Mourinho recriminó a Sánchez su bajo nivel este lunes en una charla delante de todo el plantel. Alexis ha convertido sólo 3 goles en 23 partidos con el United
— Maks Cardenas (@MaksCardenas) September 29, 2018
Sánchez travelled down to London for the match but was not involved in the matchday squad.Martial took his place but was taken off after 71 minutes for Juan Mata, having failed to make an impact on the game. Mourinho explained in his post-match press conference the decision to start Martial: “Look for how many months are people asking for Martial, Martial, Martial and saying how Alexis isn’t play well enough. This week it was time to agree and leave Alexis out.”
However, Mourinho then went on to berate Martial for his lack of defensive work rate. “I want to play Martial. Something that you are asking for a long, long, long time to play Martial, I left Alexis out, and I think that Martial is not a player very, very, very focused on his defensive duties,” he added.
With so many of United’s biggest players misfiring and the atmosphere growing more toxic with every underwhelming performance, the clock is ticking for Mourinho, who could be sacked before the end of this next week, according to various reports.
