Sunday 16 April 2017 18:20, UK
Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits Jose Mourinho was right to criticise Manchester United’s forwards for their failure to kill off Anderlecht on Thursday.
United were firmly in control in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against the Belgian side after Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave them a first-half lead.
But Mourinho's side wasted some good opportunities to score a second and were made to pay when the hosts found a late equaliser through Leander Dendoncker, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The United boss lamented the "sloppy" play of his forwards afterwards and Ibrahimovic admits he underperformed.
"I think he was right in this matter," said Ibrahimovic. "I wasn't feeling good in the sense of I was feeling tired but it is not an excuse because I still had to do much more and much better than I did."
Mourinho has relied heavily on Ibrahimovic this season and the 35-year-old striker has delivered.
The Swede has already played 44 games (40 starts) for United this season, scoring 28 goals and chipping in with nine assists.
Ibrahimovic has played every single minute of the 27 Premier League games he has started - he missed three through suspension - and he admits fatigue was a factor in his display against Anderlecht.
"I speak for myself and it was not a good performance," Ibrahimovic continued. "We've played many games and I've played in almost all of them.
"But we have one month to go, we are still grinding, still pushing because we have the Europa League and the end of the Premier League. We fight for it."
With Mourinho's side still having to play rescheduled fixtures against Manchester City and Southampton, Ibrahimovic could be asked to play up 12 games over the next five and a half weeks if United advance to the Europa League final on May 24.
But first United entertain Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday and will be looking to exact revenge for a humbling 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in October.
That loss was United's last in the league and they have since gone on a 21-game unbeaten run - 11 wins, 10 draws - but it is a record that means little to Ibrahimovic.
"Chelsea have a great team overall, or else they would not be number one, and then of course they are playing once a week which also makes a difference," Ibrahimovic said.
"At the end of the season, we will have played a lot more than them. They haven't played in Europe and went out of the League Cup early.
"Our unbeaten record is nothing we focus on. I would prefer to be first in the league and not having this record. It doesn't give us anything."
