WEST BROM 0, MANCHESTER UNITED 2
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic strikes on 5 and 56 minutes seal relaxed victory for Manchester United
- Controversy after late Ibrahimovic tackle on Craig Dawson and Salomon Rondon slap on Marcos Rojo after words exchanged
- Jose Mourinho tells players to throw shirts into the crowd for travelling Reds fans
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s double strike made sure of the win at West Brom for a very comfortable Manchester United side who increasingly look like a more settled side after a shaky start following their third Premier League win in a row.
The 35-year-old Swede has now scored 16 goals in 25 appearances for United in all competitions with 10 of those coming in the last nine games after a barren spell featuring just one goal in 11 previous games going back to August.
Jose Mourinho, who admitted that he had asked his team to give the travelling United fans their shirts as an “early Christmas present” hailed the overall performance as “even better than against Crystal Palace“.
He added: “We were very solid from the first minute. Everything was under control and we coped well with the difficult things that West Brom always bring to the game.
He also lavished praise on two-goal-hero Ibrahimovic, saying:
“I think he’s proved he’s a superman in his mentality. It’s fantastic to be doing the things he’s doing at the age of 35.”
Victory meant that the Reds remained in sixth spot but drew level with Spurs on 30 points and just three points behind fourth placed Manchester City although both clubs play on Sunday.
United set out their stall early with their first attack after Ibrahimovic’s header from Jesse Lingard’s cross put the Reds into a 5th minute lead at the Hawthorns. It was United at their best with a counter attack involving Paul Pogba and Antonio Valencia that took the Baggies by surprise.
Wayne Rooney was denied by Ben Foster and the woodwork before Lingard could have doubled United’s lead before the break when he spurned a tempting chance from 9 yards after Matteo Darmian’s miskick fell to him.
But Ibrahimovic made up for that glaring miss when he doubled United’s lead after the break after he sidestepped Gareth McAuley and saw his 56th minute effort go spinning in off Michael Dawson.
Jose Mourinho’s recipe for a more stable United side appears to hinge around using Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera alongside Paul Pogba in midfield and while they aren’t quite the buccaneering side that fans are used to they are now grinding out results in a way that was reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson’s United.
Mourinho didn’t seem keen to discuss potential flashpoints during the game, when Ibrahimovic might have been shown a red card for a late tackle on Dawson, or a moment when Salomon Rondon seemed to react to a remark by Marcos Rojo by slapping the Argentine defender during a confrontation, or when Marcus Rashford was shoulder barged off the ball by Chris Brunt.