Monday 15 August 2016 09:34, UK
Zlatan Ibrahimovic began his "cool adventure" as a Manchester United player with a typically stunning goal on Sunday..
The Swedish superstar had already netted on his Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Champions League debuts and immediately made his mark in the Premier League, arrowing a 25-yard drive into the bottom corner against Bournemouth.
The Vitality Stadium, with its 11,000 capacity, may be a modest venue compared to some of the arenas Ibrahimovic has graced but, just as he did in the Community Shield, the striker once again showed his appetite for an occasion with his opening-day goal.
"It's a lovely piece of play and that's going to do his confidence so much good," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp after the game. "You can see by the celebration how much it meant to him. They're going to love him there. They're going to absolutely love him."
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of kick-off, Ibrahimovic had insisted "I'm here to win". He and United made the perfect start on the south coast. However, like United as a team, Ibrahimovic improved greatly after a quiet first half.
Just as in the Community Shield, his first touch was a back-heel, but he had just 18 more in the opening 45 minutes - fewer than any other outfield United player. He didn't make an impact in the Bournemouth box - except for an aerial collision with Simon Francis - and failed to fire a shot at goal.
But after the interval United and Ibrahimovic upped the intensity and played noticeably further up the pitch. The graphic below shows how United's No 9, averaging a position behind Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and even right-back Antonio Valencia in the first half, pressed on to lead the line in the second.
A neat lay-off put Rooney clear in the box on 52 minutes and a clipped free-kick on the edge of the area drew a fine save from Artur Boruc. Any feeling Ibrahimovic had missed his moment with that set-piece disappeared less than two minutes later when he struck from distance.
It's Ibrahimovic's capacity for the spectacular which has set him apart throughout his career - that and his remarkable goal-scoring consistency. He scored 38 goals in 31 league games for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 last season, a tally only Barcelona's 40-goal Luis Suarez bettered across Europe's top five leagues.
After the match he told Sky Sports his own goal scoring figures are secondary to the team's success. But make no mistake, he's hungry to make an impression in England. And the fear for Premier League defences is that he's going to become more effective as the season goes on.
"It's not easy," he said when asked about adapting to a new country. "Everything is new for me, the team-mates, the club, the environment, the new stadiums but slowly I get settled in. I just play my game, make the team win and we continue like that."
Indeed, Redknapp suspects there are tweaks Jose Mourinho can make to get more from his frontman.
"I still think how much better he'll be when he gets people running off him, people like Marcus Rashford, who want to run the other way because he wants to come to the ball a lot," Redknapp said. "But in terms of his debut he'll be well satisfied."
One game, one goal, one win. This is just the start for Ibrahimovic and Mourinho's United. But the signs are good.
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