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GOTHENBURG. — New signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an acrobatic bicycle-kick within four minutes of pulling on a Manchester United shirt for the first time in a 5-2 friendly rout of Galatasaray on Saturday and claimed something “big” is happening at the club after making his debut for the Red Devils. The Swede scored within three minutes of his first appearance for Jose Mourinho’s side with a trademark scissors kick against Galatasaray in Sweden.
Even Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t make an impact for Manchester United as quickly as Ibrahimovic in Gothenburg on Saturday night. The Swedish heavyweight took just three minutes and 15 seconds to mark his United debut with a trademark stunning goal to get Mourinho’s pre-season plans back on track with a thrilling 5-2 victory against Galatasaray.
Antonio Valencia’s cross from the right appeared to be travelling behind Ibrahimovic on the penalty spot until the 34-year-old launched himself in the air and connected with a fantastic overhead kick past startled goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
The 34-year-old is one of three arrivals at Old Trafford so far this summer, with Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan joining the striker at the Theatre of Dreams. United are expected to announce a record-breaking deal for former midfielder Paul Pogba this week and Ibrahimovic claims something “big” is happening at the club.
The superstar forward, who moved from Paris Saint Germain earlier in the summer, was finally unleashed by new manager Mourinho in Gothenburg in his native Sweden. He had hardly broken sweat when, after just 190 seconds, Antonio Valencia — who was to grab three assists in all — swung over a deep cross and Ibrahimovic launched a right boot at it.
It was not the cleanest of volleys — and Mourinho barely acknowledged the goal — but it was enough to bounce into the ground and into the top left corner to deceive Fernando Muslera in the Galatasaray goal.
Ibrahimovic was replaced at the break by Marcus Rashford, when Galatasaray led 2-1 through Sinan Gumus and Bruma. Wayne Rooney scored a penalty in a second-half brace and Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata were also on the scoresheet as United came on strong after half-time.
“We have something big going on. It looks very interesting,” Ibrahimovic told Swedish television afterwards. United are tight-lipped about talks with Juventus and French international midfielder Paul Pogba, with British media speculating a mega-money move could be close.
“Let’s see if Pogba will also (come), then it will be even more interesting,” added Ibrahimovic. “It was a good start (against Galatasaray) and fantastic to score my first goal for United in Sweden. I had good support. This is my country. It is impossible to fail in my country.”
Ibrahimovic – now 35 – is expected to feature in Rooney’s testimonial against Everton on Wednesday. Mourinho played down the victory over Galatasaray, ahead of their season opener on August 14 at Bournemouth, and refused to single out Ibrahimovic for his fast start in United colours. — AFP.
Online Reporter