Why Mourinho left Alexis out of Man Utd squad for West Ham clash

Joe Williams
Alexis Sanchez Manchester United

 Jose Mourinho’s decision to rotate his Manchester United team has seen Alexis Sanchez miss out on a place in the matchday squad.

The Chilean arrived at Old Trafford from Arsenal as part of a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way in last January.

However, Sanchez has failed to live up to his reputation from his time at the Emirates Stadium with a couple of Premier League goals at the end of the last campaign, while he hasn’t scored yet this season.

Sanchez isn’t the only player to miss out with Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard left at home, while Fred has only been named on the bench against the Hammers.

When asked why Sanchez and Valencia weren’t picked, Mourinho told BT Sport: “Options, it’s options.”

When asked if playing away from home is easier, Mourinho continued: “I don’t want to say that because I would be very sad if that was the reality.

“The best thing is to play football with your fans, to play football at home is the best thing you can do. ‘For some reason I have a record of 77 matches unbeaten in the Premier League, that’s why I love to play at home.

“But the results at home this season have not been good. We lost against Tottenham, we draw against Wolves and Derby, obviously we have to try that the next match at home.

“Today is away, beautiful stadium, amazing crowd, difficult opponent. They are on a high, fantastic investment in the summer, difficult match for us but a difficult match for them.”