Alexis Sanchez hasn’t been up to his usual high standard of fitness during our opening two matches of the new season.
This is to be expected. His late involvement in the Copa America tournament, which saw his national side, Chile, lift the trophy meant his return to training was later than the rest of the squad.
There’s no argument that the 26-year-old never should have set foot on the pitch against West Ham. No matter how much we needed a goal, he wasn’t ready and instead of lifting the team, we looked even more sluggish.
Against Crystal Palace, in my opinion, he should have been given a rest, as he didn’t look his usual sharp self. However, it could be argued that said lack of fitness can only truly be gained by competitive game time.
The Chilean appears to have been using the week before we face Liverpool wisely and shared a video of him running up hill on Instagram.