At half time the competition for the man of the match award was looking surprisingly short, but luckily there was a change after the break. With the improved performance in the second half and some changes I was able to get a couple more players into the mix, so here they are.
The first player that was in with a shout is Ainsley Maitland-Niles. It may surprise a few people with the names that were on the pitch but Maitland-Niles put in a very sound performance. Starting the game in the unfamiliar position of left wing back he tried to make an impact down that flank and managed to get in behind the Cologne defence a couple of times. However, once he moved into his more natural position of central midfield he looked much more comfortable going forward and almost got himself a goal after a slick passing move.
Next up is Sead Kolasinac, who is becoming quite a regular in terms of top performers. Coming off the bench at half time, Kolasinac instantly showed us why he’s such a threat down the left wing with his volleyed equaliser which brought his goal tally to two for the season, the same number of assists he has. As usual he also showed off his defensive capabilities outmuscling his opposite number down the left hand side to bring confidence back into the team.
Last night’s man of the match happens to be someone who was making their first start of the season after international games and transfer speculation. Putting in a man of the match performance was Alexis Sanchez, who in the first half looked to be coming very deep for the ball but once he was freed in the second half couldn’t be contained.
From his very well taken goal from just outside the box, Alexis was found time and time again on the break and you can’t help but think if he had a few more games under his belt he would’ve finished some of those chances off.
During the game he also seemed to be looking for his team mates a bit more than often which was also appreciated by the home fans.
Having played the full 90 minutes last night it’s probably unlikely that the Chilean will start against Chelsea on the weekend, however, expect him to be even sharper even if he has to make his appearance after coming off the bench.
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