Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahiovic celebrates after scoring his second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. He covered every blade of grass.
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“I’m not expecting, the first time he touches the ball, to dribble past five guys and score a wonder goal”.
“He was fantastic”, said the Portuguese. He’s so comfortable in the skin of a star, so confident, the way he plays.
Mourinho also reserved words of praise for Pogba’s midfield partner Marouane Fellaini.
“I don’t know”, Mourinho joked.
“It’s a great feeling, I’m very happy”, he said.
‘The supporters are wonderful and I have this feeling in every game that I’ve played that they are the 12th player on the field.
“I read something interesting from [United manager Jose] Mourinho that he will win as much as Messi or Ronaldo. So I need September, Fosu-Mensah, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Depay, Rashford, we have a big top-quality squad”.
“I would say midfielder on the left [is my best position]”.
“Sir Alex and I exchanged a few ideas about him and I know that he and the club did everything [to keep Pogba in 2012], but the decision was made by other parties”, Jose told journalists during his press conference on Thursday.
Ibrahimovic might have arrived on a free transfer, but his value to this team is already huge.
That honour fell to Ibrahimovic, who got his head on the end of a pinpoint Wayne Rooney cross in the 36th minute to give United a 1-0 lead and continue his rich vein of goalscoring form.
The Swede is not renowned for his modesty but did his best to share the praise.
“So far three goals in total”.
“Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are also new so we need to get used to the philosophy and the culture”.
“That’s what I’m saying, I need September because the relation can be good, the players can be good professionals, they can feel I trust all of them, but when a player doesn’t play one, two, three games, the frustration comes and it is hard to play well”, he explained.
In the second half, Ibrahimovic made it two with a simple penalty. “We played good football with good opportunities”, said Puel. Their nature of dominance was such that Southampton, who had created several chances in the first half, were completely shut out in the second.
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Striker Shane Long added: “The penalty was a bit of sucker punch for us so soon after half-time”. The moment we lose the ball we have to be protected.
