Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first goal clearly showcases what the striker can bring to the club this season.
The 34-year-old was signed by the Red Devils on a free transfer as he moved to Old Trafford after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of June. He was their second signing of the summer transfer window.
Ibrahimovic, who retired from international football after Sweden’s exit from the group stages of the Euro 2016 was given an extended holiday by Mourinho. This saw him miss his new club’s first two pre-season clashes against Wigan Athletic and Borussia Dortmund.
United travelled to Sweden to face Turkish giants Galatasaray on July 30, Sunday. Ibrahimovic made his first start in United shirt in his homeland and the former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager even started him in his side’s last fixture.
The striker took just over three minutes to score his first goal for his new club as an overall, impressive performance by the Premier League outfit saw Mourinho happy after his side’s 5-2 win.
“Of course Ibra [Ibrahimovic] did show glimpses of the things he can bring us,” Mourinho explained, as quoted by United’s official website.
“Of course Marcus did well. Of course. I think everyone gave everything to improve. And even with the guys who came on at 4-2, I told them to forget the result, don’t play like we are winning 4-2. ‘You need this 30 minutes to play high tempo, high intensity, forget the 4-2.’ That’s what they all tried to do.”
“I prefer this way, I prefer that they are on the pitch so I am happy. I am happy with the opposition, they played already six or seven matches so they were in a higher tempo than us. I am happy with it all.
“And I am happy that out of such a big group we have just Timothy [Fosu-Mensah] and Chris Smalling with little injuries and apart from them, no injuries and everything looks like it’s going well.”
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