Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, left, and Bournemouth’s Harry Arter challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Manchester United at Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016.
Advertisement
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.
The opening half produced nothing of real quality and even the opening goal was a gift when miscommunication between Simon Francis and Artur Boruc allowed Juan Mata to tap the ball into an empty net.
“The first objective is to win”, he told Sky Sports.
That set the stage for the latest memorable moment in Ibrahimovic’s glittering career as the Swedish forward netted with a fine strike to mark his Premier League debut in the same goalscoring style he celebrated his maiden appearances in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Champions League. “It was a good game, a good start and it was important to start with a win”. Everything is new for me.
Marouane Fellaini has been tipped to earn the “love” of Manchester United fans by the club’s manager Jose Mourinho. I just play my game.
Determined to make a positive start, United applied most of the pressure in a tightly contested first half that saw few chances.
Rooney should have doubled the lead six minutes after half-time when he muscled Steve Cook off the ball to get through on goal, but Boruc stood tall to deflect his effort.
Ander Herrera’s ball over the top was seemingly unthreatening but a short back-pass from Francis allowed Mata to poke an effort at goal, which Boruc saved, only for Francis to conveniently bundle the rebound to the attacker, who netted easily. Antonio Valencia burst through on the right before crossing for Anthony Martial, whose scuffed shot fell perfectly for Rooney to nod home from six yards out.
Advertisement
But there was no way back for the home side, as United made sure of a winning start to the new league season.
