Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Zlatan – 3 Key Talking Points From Manchester United’s EFL Cup Final Triumph Over Southampton

Zlatan Ibrahimović came to the rescue of Manchester United late in the game as his 87th-minute header sealed a 3-2 victory for Jose Mourinho’s side over Southampton leading to their fifth league cup triumph.

Manolo Gabbiadini appeared to have put the Saints ahead at Wembley, only to see his strike ruled out for offside before goals from Ibrahimović and Jesse Lingard made it 2-0 for the Red Devils. The former Napoli man wasn’t to be kept quiet for long though, as he pulled one back for Claude Puel’s side on the stroke of half-time.

Soon after the restart, Gabbiadini doubled his tally on the day, pulling off a stunning comeback for his team. But United’s Swedish talisman proved to be the difference as he headed home late in the game to lead his team to their first major honour in the Mourinho era. The win meant United overtook Liverpool in terms of the total number of trophies won, with 42 honours to their name, compared to 41 for their bitter rivals.

Here are three main talking points from a true cup final classic from the Wembley Stadium:

1. What Could’ve Been – Gabbiadini’s Disallowed Goal

Southampton had thought they had taken an early lead when after a mistake by Marcos Rojo on the left-side was capitalized on by full-back Cedric Soares, who put in a lovely ball into the six-yard box, which Gabbiadini tucked home gleefully.

But much to the dismay of the south coast club and their manager and the fans, the linesman had raised his flag on the far side, and as a result, the goal was chalked off for offside. On watching the replays though, it was very evident that the January arrival was well on-side and instead it was Ryan Bertrand, who was offside, but had no impact on the play in the lead-up to the strike and hence the goal should’ve stood.

But the linesman chose to see it differently and the Southampton fans were left to rue as to what it could’ve been had the goal been awarded.

2. Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man – Zlatan Ibrahimović

“He is past his best”, “He won’t be able to cut it out in the Premier League”, “He is too old”. These were some of the numerous criticisms and doubts levelled at Zlatan Ibrahimović, post his free transfer to Manchester United last summer.

But the giant Swede has made every doubter eat their words in his brief spell at the Old Trafford, starting from scoring the winner in the Community Shield and now leading them to the EFL Cup triumph, grabbing a brace at the Wembley on Sunday. He took his tally to 26 goals for the season across all competitions and has, without question, emerged as the signing of the season for the Red Devils.

The impact that he has had on the team, the winning mentality that he has brought to this team is clearly visible on the pitch and on Sunday night, Zlatan once again proved the old adage true, “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man.”

3. A mouth-watering Finale Fitting for the occasion

As a final of one of the major honours in England, the mega event on Sunday had everything. Dodgy refereeing decisions, some breathtaking goals, crunching challenges, yellow cards, red cards that weren’t awarded, a stunning comeback, followed by a late, late winner.

All the constituents of a great final were on display on the grandest of the stages at Wembley. When United went 2-0 up before the half-time, nobody would have given Southampton a chance in the game, but the Saints rallied back and were on level terms and could easily have won the game if Oriol Romeu’s header hadn’t hit the woodwork. Jesse Lingard and the Romeu himself were lucky to escape second yellow cards and then it was the Zlatan show as he thumped home a header to seal the title.