“We won comfortably and the result could have been bigger”, Mourinho told Sky Sports.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United): He was occasionally prone to duff moments; overrunning the ball, or a loose pass sometimes.
Pogba will play a vital role for Mourinho’s side this season and his showing against Southampton was just the start of his long-term career on Mourinho’s exciting new side. “I am very happy with his performance”. He’s learning how to play with us.
The goals from Ibrahimovic, who now has three in two league games, overshadowed the Old Trafford return of Paul Pogba, who started and played the full 90 minutes after his recent move from Juventus.
The France global shot to the top of Jose Mourinho’s wish list following the arrivals of Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic.
Having seen his side draw 1-1 with Watford last weekend, new Southampton manager Claude Puel is still waiting for a first win.
“There were lots of things that were positive for the future”.
For the first time since 2000, the world’s most expensive footballer has not been signed by Real Madrid, and while Pogba is a “Galactico” in every sense, his return “home”, as Ibrahimovic described it, can provide United with a big lift.
The Frenchman’s first involvement indeed proved forgettable, an embarrassing air-kick gifting possession to Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but he quickly caught up with the pace of the game.
The visitors had another half-chance in the 26th minute when Shane Long turned and struck towards the bottom corner after a unsafe free kick from Steven Davis, but the Irishman’s effort just missed the post.
Mourinho is happy at how the fans are relating to his players.
Already the star man of the United, the 34-year-old striker is United’s top goal scorer with 4 goals in 3 matches and has displaced Wayne Rooney as the club’s penalty taker.
Other than a disallowed goal from Dusan Tadic, who was flagged for being offside, in the first half, the Saints never really threatened the United goal.
The good times appear to be back at Old Trafford, with Ibrahimovic’s towering header in the 36th minute and penalty in the 52nd earning United a second straight victory to open the league season under new manager Jose Mourinho.
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Pogba had a number of chances to extend United’s lead, first heading over from Mata’s corner and then blazing a pair of shots off-target.
