Alexis Sanchez Upstages Neymar in Friendly Win over Santos

Alexis Sanchez gave Gerardo Martino something to think about on Friday.

Widely expected to become the odd man out as Neymar settles in at Barcelona, the Chilean nevertheless delivered an eye-catching performance in an 8-0 pre-season win over Santos—scoring once and having a hand in two others in 73 minutes of action at Camp Nou.

Having completed a pair of underwhelming seasons at the Catalan giants following a €26 million move from Udinese in 2009, Sanchez had recently been linked with a transfer back to Italy, as new Napoli manager Rafael Benitez sought to bolster his attack following Edinson Cavani’s exit (Eurosport), but if Friday’s showing was any indication, the 24-year-old won’t be packing his bags anytime soon.

In fact, Barcelona vice-president Joseph Maria Baromeu expressed as much in a Thursday interview with El Murcurio, saying, “We are confident in [Sanchez’] ability...He will remain here.” (Goal)

And he may finally deliver on the promise he displayed in Serie A, promise he has only revealed in glimpses the past two seasons.

Almost immediately after the first ball was kicked against Santos, it was evident Sanchez felt he had a point to prove.

Moving more freely from the flanks into central areas than he seemed to do under both Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova, he quickly showed signs of understanding with fellow attackers Pedro and Lionel Messi and played a vital part in Barcelona’s second goal when he allowed the ball to pass through his legs en route to Daniel Alves, whose cross was turned past Santos goalkeeper Aranha by defender Leo.

He got his own name on the scoresheet, too, following a neat exchange with Messi that culminated in a low, confident finish inside the far post. And, as if he hadn’t already made his point, he helped set up Pedro’s tally to give Barcelona a 4-0 lead, one-touching the ball out wide to Jordi Alba whose accurate cross found the Spain forward directly in front of goal.

All this happened inside the opening half hour, but Sanchez got right back at it after the restart.

With Neymar introduced to start the second hal,f it took only eight minutes for the Brazilian, Messi and Sanchez to produce a goal. Cesc Fabregas was lucky enough to find himself on the end of the buildup, and it was Sanchez who played the final ball to the midfielder for the 5-0 lead.

Fabregas, it should be noted, also left a positive impression on Friday. The 26-year-old bagged a second-half brace and seemed to combine especially well with Neymar, who played him through with a patient, perfectly-placed pass in the 68th minute.

But it was Sanchez who starred, and with just over two weeks of preparations remaining before Barcelona open their Primera Division schedule against Levante he would seem an important, perhaps integral, part of Martino’s plans.