Ibrahimovic then continued his habit of scoring on debut, as he has previously in France, Italy, Spain and in the Champions League, with a low diagonal drive to send United top of the table.
Advertisement
Mourinho will continue to integrate him into his team this week and is expected to pick him to face the Saints at Old Trafford on Friday night. “For the next two seasons I think he can be phenomenal for the team and the Premier League”.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has brought new life to Manchester United, with the prized signing already providing several moments of magic.
Ibrahimovic maintained his record of scoring on debut in new leagues, as he has done in Italy, Spain, France and now England.
“The team did good”.
“It was a hard game”, he told Sky Sports.
Mata started slowly but came more in to the game in the second-half, and it was his strike on 40 minutes that set United on their way to victory at the Vitality Stadium. “It was a good game, a good start and it was important to start with a win”. “It is not easy, everything is new for me teammates and club”, he said. He said: “I just have to move off him and try to get to into the pockets of space that are available”. The first objective is to win, it’s also good if I score. “But it’s the same importance whoever scores”.
Juan Mata, who some observers thought Mourinho would sell for a second time after letting him leave Chelsea, put United ahead in the first half before Rooney and Ibrahimovic effectively made the game safe. That would be a step up from last season, which is fine.
Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney were also on target for United before Adam Smith pulled one back for Bournemouth on an otherwise ideal day for United. Rooney added the second after the interval. Adam Smith had pulled one back for Bournemouth, but it was not enough to stop United from shooting to the top of the table. “Our idea is that he will be a very important player for us”.
Advertisement
However, all of that experience did not prevent Mourinho from feeling nervous before the kick-off on the south coast on Sunday afternoon.
