Ibrahimovic double gives Man Utd 2-0 win over West Brom

He is the Swedish hero who cost Manchester United zero and even at the age of 35, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is making the Premier League look easy. 

Impossible to drop and impossible to ignore, Ibrahimovic has surely ended the debate over whether he would succeed in English football after his two goals continued United’s impressive run under Jose Mourinho.

Before the game he said he felt “like a 20-year-old boy”, amid suggestions from his manager of possible burn-out, but he now has 16 goals already and this was another irresistible performance.

In a typically eventful afternoon he could even have been sent off, following a first half tangle with West Bromwich Albion defender Craig Dawson, but his ability to irritate the home defence was a constant. 

United’s climb up the league is now starting to look formidable, stretching to ten games unbeaten, and with Ibrahimovic in this mood the Mourinho rebuilding job in his first season could have a memorable end.

Mourinho is 13 points behind his former club Chelsea yet the dotted line for fourth place is in view and confidence is growing. 

Twelve months have passed since Mourinho was dismissed by Chelsea, with his second divorce at Stamford Bridge ending amid acrimony and alleged dressing room disharmony. But something is starting to stir at United, even if there remains a sense that the stardust is yet to be sprinkled.

United have not lost since that insipid performance in the Europa League at Fenerbahce on November 3 and the past week has raised hopes of an uplifting end to the campaign.

They were ahead here after just five minutes following a classic counter-attack, almost Fergie-esque in its execution. Jesse Lingard outpaced Allan Nyom on the right, running onto Antonio Valencia’s lofted pass, and his exquisite cross presented Ibrahimovic with a simple header from eight yards out, nodding the ball into the bottom left corner. 

Mourinho barely moved in his seat but Albion were thrown off course, the Pulis gameplan damaged.

Just two months ago some Albion fans wanted Pulis out, despite his reputation as the Bear Grylls of football management, but the transformation recently has been remarkable. 

Albion remain resilient and organised but are now attacking with verve and vigour, the unlikely entertainers with supporters even chanting about possible European excursions next year. Pulis is now the Special One of Smethwick.

In Salomon Rondon they also possess one of the most formidable forwards in the league, with the £12million forward collecting a hat-trick of headers in the last game against Swansea.

Rondon was working tirelessly up front on his own but was well managed by United’s defence, attacks frequently fizzling out. It was Jonas Olsson who missed their best chance of a frustrating first half, glancing a Chris Brunt corner narrowly wide. 

Then came the controversy, with Ibrahimovic fortunate to escape more serious punishment after an ugly collision with Craig Dawson. There appeared to be no intent to get the ball and Dawson collapsed to the turf in a heap but Ibrahimovic was only booked. It felt like a pivotal moment for the home team.

Any sense of burning injustice from Albion will have only increased 11 minutes into the second half after the Swede added another goal to his growing collection.

After a steady period of pressure, Ibrahimovic cleverly cut inside by flicking the ball past Gareth McAuley and his low shot took a huge deflection off Dawson’s leg to squirm into the far corner. Hr has now scored 152 goals in 170 games since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Albion battled for a way back into the game but never looked like troubling David De Gea. Marcos Rojo, so often held up as the embodiment of United’s woes over the past 18 months, has never looked so assured in an United shirt.