On Sunday evening, not only did Manchester United saw off Swansea away from home with style, Red Devils star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic rediscovered his long-lost goalscoring prowess as he bagged a brace to help secure all 3 points for his side.
Before the Swansea game, the last time he found the back of the net in the EPL was against Manchester City in the early September derby. And there were concerns over his drought after he equaled a “personal record” of 6 league games without a goal following the stalemate against Burnley.
However, the 35-year-old Swede silenced his critics and naysayers alike with 2 wonderfully struck goals to ease the pressure on the club and himself, thus bringing an end to United’s poor run and his.
Zlatan now has 6 league goals in 11 games – 3 behind the league’s current highest goalscorer Diego Costa. But it hasn’t made the doubts completely go away, with many wondering if the legendary goal machine will be able to replicate the form he displayed against Swansea for the remainder of the season.
.@Ibra_official: MotM vs Swansea, Rating 8.59, Goals 2, Shots 2, Dribbles 1, Key Passes 1, Total Passes 63 @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/i4pmuTXAwD
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) November 6, 2016
Ibrahimovic began life in the Premier League on a splendid note, notching 4 goals in his first 4 games. Many suggestions that states that he would struggle at such an age cleared the initial doubts, as he seemingly slotted himself into the EPL style of play and his consistency in front of goal on the back of his early performances supported his cause very well. Or so everybody thought.
The “we said/knew it” feeling quickly took over during his drought, with many already feeling vindicated and bringing the pitchforks out. On Sunday, everyone saw the Zlatan Ibrahimovic we would love to see on a matchday basis.
In a man-of-the-match showing, Ibrahimovic not only scored twice from his only 2 shots of the evening, the United striker completed a take-on, laid down a key pass and made 63 total passes all game.
His attacking contributions have never been doubted, even though he has had to drop deep to collect passes. But it was his temporary loss of form as far as his finishing abilities are concerned that made many question Mourinho’s decision to trust a 35-year-old with the sole responsibility of leading the line.
Ibrahimovic’s performance at the Liberty Stadium could just one of the many answers to those numerous queries that have piled since September, and if that consistency hurdle is scaled, United’s hopes of mounting a proper top 4 challenge might just be rekindled off his splendid goalscoring form.
He has often sen as an isolated figure upfront, as he has been constantly starved of the type of services he enjoyed in every club he plied his trade in before arriving Old Trafford, and that problem was temporarily solved on Sunday with Rooney in the lineup.
The United skipper was involved in the buildups to all 3 goals, and his re-introduction to the lineup could be what Zlatan needs to perform consistently well in front of goal.
Or it could be the 4-1-4-1 formation that worked in his favour. Whichever of the 2 it was, Ibrahimovic enjoyed his game and had a great outing, and either or both is what he needs to constantly fire on all cylinders for the club. His quality should never come under scrutiny, the team tactics should.