Ibrahimovic shines again as United push Sunderland to the brink

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the score sheet as Uniited boosted thrie top-four hopes.

SUNDERLAND, England -- A thought from, 0-3 Manchester United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon.

 Where would United be without Ibrahimovic?
There were those who doubted Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There were those who saw his tepid performances for Sweden at Euro 2016 and wondered whether Jose Mourinho was right to build his first Manchester United team around a man in the autumn of his career.
But how that decision has been vindicated. Ibrahimovic's 28th goal of the season, a magnificent strike invoked from nothing at all, broke the fleeting resistance of Sunderland and laid the groundwork for a crucial win in Mourinho's hunt for the top four. Not for the first time, the question has to be asked: Where would United be without Ibrahimovic? That's 250 goals for the Swede, 35, since he turned 30.
"I feel like Benjamin Button. I was born old and I'll die young," Ibrahimovic said after his latest decisive performance.
Logically, a magnificent dreadnought like him shouldn't really be this successful in England. It may not be the best league, but it's certainly one of the fastest in Europe where every generation of player seems slightly faster than the last. And yet he continues to prevail; a muscle-bound fairground attendant, dog-end behind his ear, walking imperiously through a melee of dodgem cars, never fearful, always in control, always capable of ejecting troublemakers. For much of the first half, he wasn't even particularly effective. And then, moments after Jordan Pickford had denied Jesse Lingard with a fine save, Ibrahimovic beat him from distance, almost as if to prove a point to his younger teammate.
There was no danger. There was nothing on. Ibrahimovic had the ball on the left side of the penalty area, just inside the box. Billy Jones was there. Lamine Kone was there. And then suddenly Ibrahimovic wasn't. He turned, he stepped away, he created a narrow window and he fired the ball through it with such power that Pickford never had a chance of reaching it. Twenty eight goals in a season not yet complete, a haul that, for the sake of contrast, has taken his teammate Wayne Rooney 28 months to accumulate. Marcus Rashford, who hit his first league goal since September in the closing stages, needs another 12 before he even reaches 28 goals in his career.
Sunderland had caused United a little concern prior to that moment. A Lee Cattermole shot had warmed up Sergio Romero's gloves. A Bryan Oviedo free kick had done likewise earlier. The home supporters, so often left with nothing to cheer, were emboldened by these early sorties. And then Ibrahimovic silenced them.
They had plenty to shout about shortly before half-time, but for all the wrong reasons. Seb Larsson's efforts to regain possession ended with him catching Ander Herrera's shin with raised studs. A month ago, it might not have been a red card. But after Wales' Neil Taylor's leg-breaking challenge on Republic of Ireland's Seamus Coleman in the last international break, this was very much the wrong environment for a rash challenge. With 11 men, Sunderland were up against it. With 10, they were doomed.
United doubled their lead moments into the second half. Henrikh Mkhitaryan wormed his way past Cattermole and discovered to his pleasure that Kone was only too happy to stand off him. That gave the Armenian playmaker the time and space to set himself for the shot. Once again, Pickford had no chance. And as easily as that, the game was effectively over, save for Rashford's late strike. Without Ibrahimovic's moment of genius, this might not have looked so simple.