Hailing defender Eric Bailly’s Premier League bow, Mourinho also revealed he had been gripped by pre-match nerves on leading United into the new campaign. It comes after a successful few weeks in pre-season, capped off by excellent displays in the Premier League season opener against Bournemouth.
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On the pitch, Ibrahimovic has made an assured start with two goals in two games. “It’s incredible how this man (Ibrahimovic) never won the Golden Ball”.
Fellaini has been an unpopular figure with sections of the Old Trafford faithful since being signed by David Moyes in 2013, but he excelled in the 3-1 Premier League win at Bournemouth on Sunday.
LONDON (AP) – While a defeated Arsene Wenger was counting the cost of Arsenal’s young defenders, a triumphant Jose Mourinho highlighted the value of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s experience to Manchester United on a day of contrasts for the two managers on Sunday.
Starting on the right, his was the surprise inclusion in the midfield alongside Anthony Martial, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini. He became PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 156 goals in 180 games, including a career-high 38 in the league and 50 overall last season. “For somebody to have that feeling is normal.” .
It’s time for Manchester United to breathe.
The hosts responded nearly immediately with Adam Smith scoring a consolation goal on 69 minutes but it was ultimately too little too late for the Cherries.
Newcomers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Eric Bailly impressed during the match as the team dominated the Cherries throughout the whole more than 90 minutes of action. But his composure, presence and that quick save in the high-pressure final minutes shows that Dave is still ready to save.
Ibrahimovic has started his United career very well, scoring a fantastic goal in the friendly against Galatasaray last month and, more importantly, clinching his team’s Community Shield victory over champions Leicester City at Wembley with an 83 minute header.
Juan Mata opened the scoring five minutes before halftime and captain Wayne Rooney headed United’s second in the 59th before Ibrahimovic rifled home a shot from 25 yards.
However, the performance did raise some issues about Zlatan’s pace and work rate.
“He’s a target man but also has great feet”.
There were outstanding team goals from Lallana, Coutinho and Mane while Petr Cech had to make an excellent save to deny Coutinho a hat-trick. However, the goal does not gloss over the fact that the ageing superstar looked less than convincing in his number 10 role.
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United’s 89 million pounds (105 million euros, Dollars 116 million) record signing Paul Pogba was unavailable due to suspension.
