Henrikh Mkhitaryan

[Andi Istiabudi]

Congrats !!!

[fredrian.seven]

Wow... penampilan hampir penuh pertama langsung MOTM. Sayang beberapa peluangnya gagal jadi gol.

[tumpal_oneunited]

Salah satu yg menarik dari match tadi pagi adalah ketika Mikhi berlari sendirian membawa bola melewati beberapa pemain feyenord, sayang lajunya terhambat oleh pemain lawan.
Anyway, kenapa wasit ga ngasih freekick ya buat United??

[zudomiriku]

Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally spreads his wings as Manchester United soar past Feyenoord in Europa League

* Henrikh Mkhitaryan started his first game in 75 days for Manchester United
* He was hooked at half time during the Manchester derby in September
* Feyenoord clash his second start since £28m Borussia Dortmund move

Jose Mourinho finally gave Manchester United supporters a chance to view the lesser-spotted Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Old Trafford on Thursday night and the £28million mystery man did enough to indicate he won’t go on the endangered species list.

The usage of Mkhitaryan, or rather lack of, has been one of the major talking points in Mourinho’s difficult season so far in the north-west.

Billed as a quick-footed, dynamic and creative playmaker when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund, Mkhitaryan had started just one match in the opening four months of the season, and that was a disaster that lasted just 45 minutes against Manchester City.


Henrikh Mkhitaryan controls the ball during Manchester United's win over Feyenoord

Mourinho had implied the Armenian international needed to build his physical and mental strength to flourish at United and Europa League opponents Feyenoord were handpicked for him to exploit his assets.

The United fans cheered his name at kick off and though he started in the graveyard position on the left-hand side where Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have all been tried this season, it quickly became evident that Mkhitaryan had the license and intelligence to regularly swap.

Indeed, the first-time passes between Rooney and Mkhitaryan seemed to raise the United captain’s morale, hinting at a good footballing chemistry between the pair.

Mkhitaryan’s movement was excellent and he was unlucky to twice find himself in good scoring positions without being able to beat Brad Jones.

When he ran at the Feyenoord defence, it created space for others like Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, something desperately lacking in United’s game this season.

It whetted the appetite to see what he could do with a run of games under his belt.

If you were being hyper-critical, you could say he should have had more conviction to finish off Paul Pogba’s pass. But finishing won’t be a long-term problem judging by his record.

At Dortmund, he scored 18 goals last season – a terrific ratio for a midfielder.

He hit the sidenetting in the second half as his confidence grew and his deflected shot squirted into the path of Juan Mata to put the ball in, although the Spaniard was ruled offside.

Mourinho has opted for a team of giants this season; led by Pogba and Ibrahimovic.

But the x-factor, a player with close control to run at speed has been missing until now. The number of times Mkhitaryan ran at Jens Toornstra and Steven Berghuis to win free-kicks made United look comfortable defending a 1-0 lead whereas they were too deep at the weekend against Arsenal.

And sure enough Mata was able to add to Rooney’s first-half goal to make it 2-0 midway through the second half.

Just as importantly for Mkhitaryan, he wasn’t the first United player to be substituted this time. Instead, he was allowed to enjoy the occasion for 82 minutes before getting a great ovation as Jesse Lingard came on. ‘Best player on the pitch,’ purred TV co-commentator Robbie Savage.

Ibrahimovic had earlier tried to provide Mkhitaryan with the icing on the cake but before the pass could reach him, goalkeeper Brad Jones deflected the cross for an own goal to make it 3-0.

Never mind. Before Thursday night, Mkhitaryan had been given just 130 minutes gametime by Mourinho. This was his longest, and best, performance in a United a shirt by a distance. Lesser-spotted no more.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3969620/Henrikh-Mkhitaryan-finally-spreads-wings-Manchester-United-thrash-Feyenoord-Europa-League.html

[rio vander vidic]

Originally Posted by tumpal_oneunited

Salah satu yg menarik dari match tadi pagi adalah ketika Mikhi berlari sendirian membawa bola melewati beberapa pemain feyenord, sayang lajunya terhambat oleh pemain lawan.
Anyway, kenapa wasit ga ngasih freekick ya buat United??

Yoi Ooom..lumayan keren mkhitaryan mainnya td malem..sayang peluang yg di dapet gagal goal..padahal salah satu pemain yg kayaknya berambisi bgt buat nunjukkin kalo dia layak jd starting IX-nya Mou..hehe..

Btw soal penalty..
Kalo menurut saya sih musim ini para wasit sangat "meminimalisir" ngasih penalty atau freekick buat united..sebagai gantinya mereka lebih milih ngelakuin hal serupa ke lawan2 united..baik di PL maupun di kompetisi lain..takut terkenal kaya clattenburg kali yeeeee..hehehe..

[Andi Istiabudi]

Mulai diberikan kepercayaan lagi nih



JOSE HINTS MKHITARYAN COULD FACE WEST HAM

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be in line for another start this weekend after impressing against Feyenoord.

The Armenian earned the club’s Man of the Match award after catching the eye on his second start for the Reds in Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League win over the Dutch side at Old Trafford.

The summer signing from Borussia Dortmund said after the game he hopes his positive performance can herald a new beginning for him. And, speaking in his post-match press conference, Mourinho praised the 27-year-old’s display, suggesting he may be in contention for a starting berth in Sunday’s Premier League match against West Ham United.

The boss told reporters: "He just needs now to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League. The Premier League is different – he needs one more step. Obviously now confidence levels are higher.

"This performance gives him the right to believe that he can play the next match again and he needs to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League with more physicality and more aggression.

"He needs a little bit more of that but the quality – we know why we bought him, we know we were buying a player with a high level of technical quality," he added. "[He is] very intelligent and very bright, the way he reads the game, so good for him because the performance was good."

www.manutd.com

[zudomiriku]

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Henrikh Mkhitaryan: He is evolving... we know why we bought him and we were waiting for this

* Manchester United 4-1 West Ham: Click here to read our match report
* Jose Mourinho spoke about Henrikh Mkhitaryan after the easy win
* Mkhitaryan put in a man of the match performance at Old Trafford
* 'We know the reason why we bought him and we were waiting for his adaptation and it looks like it's coming,' the United manager said

Jose Mourinho feels Henrikh Mkhitaryan is evolving into the player he wanted when the Manchester United manager sanctioned the £26million signing in the summer.

Mkhitaryan put in a man of the match performance against West Ham on Wednesday night as United progressed into the EFL Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 win.

Mourinho was serving a touchline ban for the tie but spoke afterwards about Mkhitaryan, who assisted two goals with one a backheel for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

'I'm so happy because today was against a Premier League team with Premier League qualities with Premier League characteristics,' Mourinho told Sky Sports.

'That showed clearly his evolution. Against Feyenoord we could think, "OK it is a different profile of football" but today was against a proper and typical Premier League team and Micky could perform this way. So I'm really happy.


Mourinho feels Mkhitaryan is turning into the player he hoped he would be when he signed. Mkhitaryan was instrumental in Manchester United's 4-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday

'We know the reason why we bought him and we were waiting for his adaptation and it looks like it's coming.'

Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial scored two apiece on Wednesday to secure the 4-1 win against West Ham and set up a two-legged semi-final with Hull City.

Mkhitaryan was asked how he felt about his performance afterwards and answered: 'I'm more pleased we won.

'It was a very important game because now we are in the semi-finals. I think we did a good job and we've got to keep going.'


Mkhitaryan put in a man of the match performance at Old Trafford on Wednesday night

On whether it would be a dream to get to a Wembley final, he added: 'Maybe it is a dream but that is not the main goal.

'We have to be focussed for the next game. Then we will see what happens.'

United play Everton in the Premier League next but will have to make do without Wayne Rooney, who is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3987476/Manchester-United-manager-Jose-Mourinho-Henrikh-Mkhitaryan-evolving-know-bought-waiting-this.html

[Ardiey11]

2X ini Jose memuji Miki, setelah terakhir mengecewakan saat kekalahan laga EPL lawan City. Seharusnya Miki sudah masuk starting di EPL, karena pergerakannya di di belakang Ibra cukup seperti memiliki kemisteri.

[Andi Istiabudi]

MKHITARYAN PLEASED WITH PERFORMANCE

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was delighted with his Man of the Match display and the team’s performance as Manchester United brushed aside West Ham United in Wednesday’s EFL Cup quarter-final tie.

After starring against Feyenoord, the Armenian captain earned his second star man award in a week – taking 78 per cent of the votes on United's official Twitter feed – with another positive display in the Reds’ 4-1 victory over the Hammers at Old Trafford.

The summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, who was making his third start for the Reds, received a rapturous applause from the United faithful when replaced by Marcus Rashford late on. And he told MUTV afterwards he was pleased with his contribution to a fine overall display from the team to set up a two-legged semi-final against fellow Premier League side Hull City.

“I’m excited for the performance, I’m excited for my performance,” Mkhitaryan said. “We’ve done a good job. We’ve tried our best to win because the last game, on Sunday against West Ham, wasn’t very good for us when we didn’t win. But I think this time everything worked out and we’re very pleased.”

The Reds have often reserved the best form for the cup competitions on home soil having also put four past both Feyenoord and Fenerbahce, as well as knocking out EFL Cup holders Manchester City in the previous round, at Old Trafford. And Mkhitaryan believes the clinical edge was the difference in putting Slaven Bilic’s Hammers to the sword second time around – something the Reds must maintain heading into Sunday’s league game at Goodison Park.

He said: “The last game we couldn’t score our chances, but now we’ve scored our chances so the difference is that. This time we’ve done maybe more than what we have to do and we’ve scored four goals. Maybe we could score more but in the end we stopped on four goals and I think we’ve done a very good game and the transition from defence to offence was great. We have to keep working to be ready for the next game against Everton.”

The 27-year-old was a constant menace to the West Ham defence, setting up a goal apiece for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial, but he acknowledged the team’s efforts and said it was a performance which can allow the Reds to kick on as the busy festive period approaches.

“Sometimes after the game you’re feeling tired but it’s a very good tired because you’ve done everything on the pitch and you’re satisfied with the work you’ve done on the pitch, so I think this is the day that everyone is tired but satisfied,” Mkhitaryan added.

“Of course, it’s always a pleasure to win games because you’re recovering faster, you’re recovering better, you have more fun in the dressing room so it makes you keep the good atmosphere in the dressing room which is what we’re trying to do.”

www.manutd.com

[Riskur]

MKHITARYAN AT HOME ON THE BIGGEST STAGE

In a revealing interview with The Players' Tribune, Manchester United's Henrikh Mkhitaryan has opened up on why his late father Hamlet continues to be his inspiration.

The Armenia captain tragically lost his dad when only seven years old due to a brain tumour and it naturally had a profound effect on his childhood. By somehow summoning up the strength to follow in his father's footsteps, he has not only emulated Hamlet's achievement of representing his country but is now appearing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"When you walk onto the pitch at Old Trafford, it is not just a pitch, it is a stage," the attacking midfielder said. "If my father could see me on that stage, I think he would be very proud.

"I was always kind of chasing him and I think, even though he’s not here, he helped me to get to this place. If he was still alive, maybe I would be a lawyer or a doctor right now. Instead, I am a footballer.

"The year after my father died, I started football training," he added. "He was the drive for me, he was my idol. I said to myself, I have to run just like him. I have to shoot just like him.

"By the time I was 10 years old, my entire life was football. Training, reading, watching, even playing football on PlayStation. I was totally focused on it. I especially loved the creative players — the maestros. I always wanted to play like [Zinedine] Zidane, Kaká and Hamlet. (Pretty good company for my father)."

The decision to head to Brazil as a 13-year-old to train with Sao Paulo for four months must have been an extraordinarily difficult one to take but it helped broaden the youngster's horizons and develop his playing style.

"That was one of the most interesting times of my life, because I was a very shy kid from Armenia who didn’t speak any Portuguese," he admitted. "But I didn’t care at all because, to me, I was getting to go to football paradise.

"I dreamed of being like Kaká, and Brazil was the home of that creative style, which the Brazilians call ginga. That time was very important to me, because it shaped my style as a player. When I returned to Armenia after four months in Brazil, I was still quite skinny and weak, but I had technique and skill. I was feeling very free on the pitch. I was feeling like the Armenian Ronaldinho. (Ha ha ha ha. No, I’m joking)."

Thankfully, United's fans are now able to enjoy the 'Armenian Ronaldinho' after narrowly failing to sign the Brazilian star during Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge. The Old Trafford faithful have had to be patient but are clearly now falling in love with the summer signing from Borussia Dortmund.

"I knew it would be a challenge to leave a good situation at Dortmund and succeed at United," he said. "But I did not want to sit in my chair as an old man and have any regrets. I was ready to move.

"When the deal was done and dusted, I sat down to sign the contract with United and that’s when it hit me. That’s when I realised that this big move to the Premier League was really happening.

"I will never forget that moment, nor will I forget the time I put on the red Manchester United shirt before my first training session with the club. It made me feel so happy and proud about what I had achieved in my career.

"At the beginning of this season at United, I suffered an injury and have not had many chances to play. It would be fair to say that the start of my life in Manchester was not perfect. But there have been many other times when I’ve had setbacks, and I have never given up. I will continue working every day so that I can help the team succeed."

Having overcome incredible adversity in the past, there is every reason to expect Mkhitaryan to continue achieving his goals and become a firm favourite at United.

For the full, extensive must-read interview with Henrikh Mkhitaryan on his upbringing and football career so far, visit theplayerstribune.com.

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Fe...e-for-him.aspx