A week on from heading the victor in a 2-1 Community Shield triumph over Leicester City at Wembley, Ibrahimovic drilled home a superb long-range strike to conclude United’s scoring in a routine victory at the Vitality Stadium.
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When asked if he had been nervous before his first Premier League clash as United boss, Mourinho replied: “To be honest, before the match a little bit, yes, but to have that feeling is normal”.
Ibrahimovic sealed the victory with a low, drilled finish, underscoring United’s determination to bring the charismatic hitman to the Premier League.
United were without new world record signing Paul Pogba for the season opener as he is now serving a suspension.
Many of Mourihno’s young players have been spending time with Ibrahimovic to pick his brains.
Both Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly were named in the starting line-up alongside Fellaini, and impressed on their Premier League debuts, with Bailly being named Man of the Match by fans on Twitter after the game. “Our idea is that he will be a very important player for us”, he said.
“Against Bournemouth on Sunday, he played his way into the game brilliantly without trying to prove any points”.
“So when September arrives, when cup talk arrives and the Europa League arrives, we have the people to play and to try to be competitive in every competition”.
The former Sweden global was again on target as he scored his second goal in a week for the Red Devils.
Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who played for the last quarter of an hour at Bournemouth, is another contender for a midfield place, having also been added to a squad that Mourinho said had been “sad” when he first encountered them.
Ibrahimovich also said that he was happy with his performance but insisted the team should come first.
“It’s incredible how Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never won the Golden Ball”, Mourinho told BBC Sport.
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“It was a hard game. The first half we weren’t 100 percent but the second half became easier, there was more space”.
