Manchester United winning the Premier League and Champions League are realistic possibilities, says Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not recover from career threatening injuries like a normal man, he returns quicker than anyone else and in far better shape than he was before his knee ligaments ruptured. He is, according to his own modest assessment, a miracle man. Even still, few will believe him when he says Manchester United can win the Premier League and Champions League now he is fit again.
Ibrahimovic has been on the pitch for only 13 minutes this season, but the limp has gone and the swagger is back. So is Manchester United’s as they keep the gap between themselves at Manchester City at the top of the table to eight points.
The forward's reappearance – two months earlier than anyone realistically expected – came when this game had already been won. He was a member of the supporting cast, afforded a standing ovation when he emerged from the substitute’s bench after the home supporters had effectively already celebrated the team’s victory.
Ibrahimovic, though, never dwells in the background. He does not like it in the shadows. He craves the glare of the spotlight.
There are some players who would provoke resentment because of it; their brash boasting would be ridiculed; their self-confidence mocked, but not Ibrahimovic. Standing alongside Paul Pogba in the post-match television interviews, Ibrahimovic towered above the man-of-the match, literally and metaphorically. All Pogba could do was laugh as he dusted off some lines from his self-aggrandisement phrase book.
Minutes, later, having vaulted over a fence to speak to reporters, rather than walk around it like a normal person, Ibrahimovic unleashed a warning to those who believe the title race will be a procession leading towards Manchester City’s coronation as champions.
“I think we can chase City, why is it not a possibility?” he asked without a smile. “We are all here because we want to win and we need to because they are first.
“This week the manager has been very happy because he has a full team for the first time this season and as a coach you want those opportunities and alternatives to make changes.
“We just need to pick and choose. He knows what he is doing, even when the number of players are limited because he’s a winner and has been winning every season.
“I think there is a possibility for everything [the Premier League and Champions League]. We were early into it last year and won two trophies. We are stronger this season. We believe we can do it – that’s the aim. To win and get the trophies.
“It was an amazing reaction from the fans, but I felt it from day one. From the first step in the warm up, with people singing and cheering for you, it’s what keeps you going.
“This was not one man’s work, it was everyone’s and thanks to them that I am back on field, because if people knew what kind of injury I had, they would not believe this. People believe I only had an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] injury, but I had more stuff in my knee that was injured. I want to keep that to myself, though, because I don’t need to tell the world – it’s very sensitive. My brain plays football, my knee just has to follow.”
This is what Ibrahimovic brings, confidence, belief and a touch a showbiz. In truth, although his appearance was a welcome a sight just seven months after the 36-year-old -collapsed on the pitch and many predicted the end of his glittering career, it was irrelevant to the result.
It was the return of Pogba to Manchester United’s midfield that metamorphosed a dull, methodical team into a sparklingly destructive one that out-classed Newcastle, punishing them for having the audacity to take the lead like a Lionesses swatting away an over-zealous cub for biting her ear.
Pogba was magnificent on his own return after two months of injury rehabilitation and Jose Mourinho’s team, after a slow start in which Newcastle were the better side for half an hour and took the lead through Dwight Gayle, delivered a performance that suggests they will not allow City to win anything without a fight.
Mourinho’s tactical brain remains sharp, spotting the defensive weakness of Newcastle’s two full backs, DeAndre Yedlin and Javier Manquillo, he targeted them, Anthony Martial and Chris Smalling heading in crosses at the far post before Pogba poked in the third and Romelu Luaku smashed in a fourth.
“With the players we have, I think we are doing quite well, although it could be better,” said Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez. “I am really pleased with what I have seen in the first half, and really proud of this group of players. We know that we have to improve if we want to be consistent in terms of getting results. But we knew that before and we will know the same in a couple of months.
“I think you have the six teams at the top, and they are operating at a level where they are much better than the others. Manchester United will challenge for every trophy this season.”
