Jose Mourinho praised the pedigree, leadership and attitude of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Swede scored in stoppage time to hand Manchester United a deserving win.
Manchester United snatched a stoppage time win at Selhurst Park to mark back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since August, as the Red Devils triumphed over Crystal Palace by a scoreline of 2-1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba scored and provided one each to set up what could turn out to be an important win for Mourinho’s men.
Speaking at the post-match conference, manager Jose Mourinho praised the whole unit for their attitude and desire to get the win, which he said that his side deserved on the back of a dominant display. The Portuguese also reserved special praise for his centre-back pairing of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones, terming the duo as phenomenal. He added that Rojo seems to be in the form of his life, playing possibly the best football of his career up to date.
Mourinho also lauded the superstar duo of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose performances were clinical in the victory. The manager praised both his stars but also touched on the topic of Zlatan falling back to the defensive midfield right after giving United the lead, something that, according to Mourinho, showed the desire and passion that the Swede still has for the game.
Mourinho said,“ I think they both were phenomenal during the game. The pass obviously is fantastic, the movement is great, the shot is good, but for me I probably prefer what Zlatan did after the goal because that was phenomenal.”
“He played in front of the back four, winning every ball in the air, controlling on the chest, cooling down the play, he is phenomenal. It is not just the goals that he scores, it is not just the goal that gives us three points, it is the leadership, the desire, the passion. Fantastic!”
Mourinho himself was quite visibly ecstatic at the full-time whistle and the Portuguese manager seems to have already grown a place in his heart for the fans of Manchester United. The former Chelsea manager has already said that the fans here have been the best he has seen, and he thanked the fans once again for their unwavering support for the club, the players and their manager.
Manchester United have been struggling to earn wins despite dominant displays and the narrow back-to-back wins are likely to serve as a huge morale boost to the whole squad.