Manchester United are in a really tricky situation. They have picked up the EFL Cup this year, and are still alive in another 3 competitions. Fortunately for them, their main striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks to be in good form.
He has scored 26 goals for Manchester United across all competitions. He scored 15 goals in the English Premier League and is in the race for the golden boot. He has won every league title, in every league he has played so far. He is looking to conquer England as well.
So what’s the tricky situation?
The problem is not his performance but of his position. Manchester United haven’t lifted the Premier League trophy since Sir Alex departed in 2013. This is the 4th season since then, and their best performance so far has been finishing 4th.
In such a situation, the team might be looking for a striker who would score in every game. But the tricky situation is that Zlatan has looked to be in good form. Despite being 35 years old, he has been one of the most consistent goal scorers this season.
They have been in a similar situation before with Robin Van Persie. The Dutch international helped Manchester United pick up the Premier League title for the record 20th time. He had a wonderful season, as the Red Devils bade Sir Alex Ferguson farewell. However, immediately in the following season, Persie was missing his shooting boots. Mourinho would be scared about Zlatan for the same reason.
No reflection of age on performance:
When the Swedish International moved to Manchester, there were a lot of questions if he would be able to help Manchester fill their trophy cabinet. But so far the team is still 6th in the league. No one at his age has shown the kind of performance that Zlatan shows every match-day. The 35-year-old has played the entire 90 mins everytime he has started for Manchester United. He has started in all Premier League games for United, barring the game he was suspended for.
He is quite a character both on the field as well as off the field. Everyone has seen his goal of the millennium, and it was indeed spectacular. He influences the game, even when he doesn’t have the ball. He has spoken about being subject to bullying when he was a kid. But he has come a long way since then. He enjoys bullying the younger members of the team, but it is all in good spirit.
The unofficial boss:
Most recently, Zlatan scored the opening goal for Manchester during the EFL finals. He took the free kick, putting the ball on the right of the keeper. The keeper couldn’t help but watch the ball move in front of eyes, as he dived helplessly.
For the ones who follow football, especially Man-United, would know that ever since he started off with the Red devils, he has never been able to convert any of the free-kicks(except the one in Europa League due to a deflection). Pogba is clearly a better free-kick taker, yet Ibra’s the one who gets to kick the ball every time, and not any team member along with Mourinho seemed to question this. Zlatan has a bossy reputation. When he is on the field, he’s the unofficial boss.
Is Zlatan only buying Mourinho some time?
Zlatan has enjoyed a great relation with Mourinho, unlike his previous managers. Zlatan’s move to Manchester was confirmed as soon as Mourinho announced his arrival to the Theatre of Dreams. Now it is up to them to decide the future of Manchester United. If they do decide to keep Zlatan at Manchester and not sign a new striker, they will expect him to start every game and win them the league.
But if Mourinho chooses to let Zlatan go, English Premier League would be the first league that Zlatan wouldn’t have conquered. Let’s see if he will really be the God of Manchester.
