Pink 96.9 fm your life, your music
Related Articles
Five victories in a row, 11 unbeaten. Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United are on the march again after a ropey start to the season that saw them drop points against Burnley and Stoke, and crumble at Watford.
There are no grounds for complacency at Old Trafford with the team in a modest sixth position, but optimism was in the air following the Boxing Day victory against Sunderland, encapsulated by Henrik Mkhitaryan’s fantasy backheel volley.
Mourinho spent the first few weeks at Old Trafford most un-Jose like. After opening with three wins, he then took an uncharacteristic selection gamble by throwing in Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for their first starts against Manchester City, a decision that backfired horribly.
He then over-compensated by freezing out Mkhitaryan completely while Michael Carrick also mysteriously couldn’t get a game. Tactics also lurched from one thing to another, one minute Mourinho seemed desperate to uphold United’s attacking traditions, the next he parked a double decker at Anfield.
Things are on an even keel now. Mkhitaryan and Carrick are back in the fold, team selection is more consistent, so is the balance between defence and attack. More Jose-like.
ZLATAN CONVERTS CHANCES INTO GOALS
It’s no coincidence that Ibrahimovic has scored 11 goals in United’s 11-match unbeaten run, having scored just once in the previous 11. All the Premier League contenders bar Liverpool have a specialist goalscorer in their ranks – Diego Costa, Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez – and United have their main man back in peak form.
35-year-old Zlatan doesn’t just score in big numbers, he scores key goals; the late winner at Crystal Palace, a double at West Brom. Against Sunderland, his neat finish from Paul Pogba’s pass gave United the two-goal cushion to bank the points.
The super Swede is bettered only by Costa in terms of Premier League goals this season and overall he’s netted 50 times in 2016. In addition to all that, he’s become a leader in the dressing-room and on the pitch. Rooney wears the armband when he plays but Zlatan sets the tempo. Of course, he never had any doubts he’d be a success in England. ‘I know how to score goals,’ he says.
A SETTLED MIDFIELD; CARRICK, HERRERA AND POGBA
For all the money United have spent since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, nobody makes them tick like Carrick. And while Mourinho initially seemed reluctant to rely on the 35-year-old, he’s been a regular fixture in the unbeaten run.
Carrick develops on-field relationships making those around him better. Ander Herrera’s energy and mobility compliment Carrick’s shrewd football brain and with those two setting up play from deep, Paul Pogba has the license to cause damage further up the pitch and is starting to justify his £89million price tag.
