Ibrahimovic fires United, to miss Arsenal clash

Ibrahimovic fires United, to miss Arsenal clash

Manchester United and Jose Mourinho returned to winning ways and deepened Swansea’s problems with a 3-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium.

Wayne Rooney, back in the starting Premier League lineup, came close to giving United the lead early on when he made space for a low shot that bent narrowly wide of the post.

United were enjoying plenty of possession, with Michael Carrick prominent, and took the lead against the struggling Swans with 15 minutes on the clock as Paul Pogba blasted home a superb volley when a clearance fell to him on the edge of the area.

The visitors soon doubled their advantage as Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended his recent goal drought and registered the Premier League’s 25,000th strike when his low shot got away from Lukasz Fabianski.

The Swede put Mourinho’s men out of sight with a little over half an hour played, brushing aside an unconvincing Angel Rangel challenge before firing into the net from 12 yards.

Rooney dragged an effort wide of the post as United sought a fourth before the break, with Swansea having failed to muster any sort of threat to their opponents.

Marouane Fellaini failed to make proper contact with a couple of efforts from just inside the Swansea area early in the second half, and the home side pulled a goal back after 69 minutes when defender Mike van der Hoorn headed home from close range.

Stephen Kingsley then crossed towards Mo Barrow as the Welsh side looked for an unlikely second, but United were soon back on the front foot as Rooney found Mata inside the area and the midfielder put his effort just wide.

Ibrahimovic’s afternoon suffered a blemish when he received his fifth yellow card of the season for a foul on Leroy Fer, meaning he sits out United’s game against Arsenal after the international break.

That means he will be out of United’s starting line-up for the first time in the Premier League after featuring in all 11 games so far.

Discussing his fifth yellow card of the season, Ibrahimovic told BBC Sport: “I thought we played rough in England? I play rough and I got a yellow card. What was it for? I don’t know. Maybe I was too tired to hear why the referee gave it.”

The 35-year-old’s goals ended a six-game barren run in the Premier League – – with his previous strike in the competition having come in the 2-1 home defeat against Manchester City on Sept. 10.

His first goal was a driven effort and his second came when he evaded Angel Rangel and clipping the ball in and he marked his success with a karate kick celebration.

-Report by ESPN FC/soccernet.com

Tags:

Arsenal Manchester United Zlatan Ibrahimovic England Paul pogba Wayne Rooney football English Premier League Swansea City

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