London: Wayne Rooney finally made a difference for Manchester United this season, setting up Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal two minutes after going off the bench to beat Ukraine’s Zorya Luhansk 1-0 in the Europa League at home, Thursday.
There was mixed reaction at Old Trafford when Jose Mourinho sent in the much-criticised Rooney in the 67th minute, but his misfired shot bounced to the far post, where Ibrahimovic nodded in.
Rooney was in good position after a cross from the right flank, but the ball bounced off his knee as he attempted a shot, going across the area towards the unmarked Ibrahimovic who had no difficulty scoring.
Mourinho didn’t start Rooney after saying he wanted to protect his captain from a media backlash if he had another poor performance.
It was a crucial win for United, which was coming off a 0-1 loss at Feyenoord in their Europe League opener. The English side moved off the bottom of Group A. Turkey’s Fenerbahce, which defeated Feyenoord 1-0 at home, lead by a point after two matches.
United controlled possession against Zorya but created very few scoring chances, with the best early on coming from a powerful shot by Marcus Rashford that struck the crossbar.
Meanwhile Mourinho after the match bemoaned the October fixtures and called them a ‘poisoned gift’. After the international break, United travel to Liverpool, October 17, host Turkish club Fenerbahce in the Europa League three days later before travelling to Chelsea for a league fixture, October 23.
“We don’t have the best conditions because we play against two top Premier League teams who don’t have European competition. We have this poisoned gift with playing on the Monday which gives us a very difficult situation,” said Mourinho.
Agencies