United striker under Mourinho

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Wayne Rooney is trusted by Jose Mourinho but these are tough times for the Manchester United striker and he was poor against Northampton

* Manchester United news: All the latest from Old Trafford
* Wayne Rooney started up front against Northampton in the EFL Cup
* Rooney is trusted by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho
* He was played as a striker in the third round victory at Sixfields

These have been times of mixed messages for Wayne Rooney, whose past fortnight is up there with the most trying of his career.

A striker away at Northampton Town on Wednesday night when others were handed a rest.

A midfielder in the chastening defeat at Watford, his lacklustre performance indicative of their toil.


Wayne Rooney is having a difficult time at Manchester United and a trip to Sixfields didn't help

Jose Mourinho has nailed his trust in Rooney to the mast - said as much in Shanghai in the midst of a disastrous tour of China - and cannot be seen to go back on that proclamation so quickly.

But he now has decisions to make. Rooney's is a situation which has been allowed to linger and is now coming to a head, even more so than last year.

The trouble is, there seems no defined plan for him. United appear to just be hoping it clicks.

Mourinho made a point of saying his captain 'wasn't a striker anymore' during an opening press conference in which he also rejected the idea of a midfield role. Confused? Rooney must be.

Two months down the line and United are none the wiser with what should be done about a player who turns 31 next month and who, more crucially, has only scored two club goals since February.

Those both came against Bournemouth at the finish of last season and the start of this, with observers at United suggesting he has lost an edge. Clearly, he is now behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford.

It was telling that his gaze was fixed on the away dugout when those two were introduced just after half-time at Sixfields. Wide of a three after that, where he actually looked liveliest but a position Mourinho knows he is unsuited to.

Rooney had led the line alone and did little to suggest he will definitely be lining up in the Old Trafford tunnel ahead of Leicester City at Saturday lunchtime.

This dip is hurting and there is no lack of effort from England's skipper, a real endeavour to make things happen. His attitude cannot be questioned and this was as pumped as he had looked for a while before kick-off, almost crashing into team-mates in a bid to liven them.

He does offer something to Mourinho, and nobody at United has created more goalscoring opportunities this season or recorded as many assists. Even that comes with its arguments, however, with his meek indirect free-kick passed against the home wall in effect teeing Michael Carrick up to sweep home an opener on Wednesday.

Everything surrounding him is perplexing at the moment, a conundrum which cannot merely be written off as a man to have given United so much over the years as finished.

Circumstances have not helped either. If Paul Pogba had hit the ground running in midfield as a world-record signing might and bossed games from a central two as he definitely can than this debate may be moot.


Rooney's heat map from Wednesday night shows his desire to help out the midfield and attack

As it is, though, Pogba has not imposed himself on matches enough as yet and thus it is left to their No 10 to galvanise.

And he has not so far. At Northampton - stationed in English football's third tier - Rooney's influence was fleeting. He missed a sitter from six yards out, almost a complete fresh air shot when all alone and was then offside when he bundled into the net later in the first half.

Nothing truly clicked within the width of the hosts' penalty area and he dropped deeper and deeper. Nice touches there in the main but with a definite feel that he was taking himself out of the firing line up front. As Mourinho himself said, there are plenty who can spray balls around under little pressure.

He was between the central defenders picking up possession at one stage and also gave the ball away in the build-up to Northampton's equaliser which had threatened an upset before Ibrahimovic and Rashford turned up the heat.

Generally though, Rooney was a yard ahead of the ball, crosses were just evading his head. Why? Nobody at United seems to know.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3801046/Wayne-Rooney-trusted-Jose-Mourinho-tough-times-poor-against-Northampton.html

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Marcus Rashford has scored 12 goals in his first 25 games for Manchester United... precisely the same record Wayne Rooney had at that stage

* Marcus Rashford made it 12 goals in 25 matches for Man United when he scored in Saturday's 4-1 win over Leicester City
* It means he matches Wayne Rooney's United record after 25 games
* Both players made their debut in a European game and found the net
* They both opened Premier League account against Arsenal

They were both 18 when they first endeared themselves to the Old Trafford faithful with goals on their debuts - which both happened to come in European competition.

They both opened their Premier League scoring accounts with goals against Arsenal, before following that up with winners against Manchester United's bitterest rivals.

And after their first 25 matches for the Old Trafford club, they both happen to have an identical scoring return of 12 goals.


Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney both scored 12 goals in their first 25 Man United matches


Wayne Rooney celebrates completing his debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce in 2004


Marcus Rashford scored two goals on his United debut - against Midtjylland last season

These are the parallels between the early United careers of Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford and, on the evidence so far, the latter will be just as good as the former in his prime.

Of course as Rashford's star continues to rise, the future of Rooney at United is beginning to look increasingly uncertain.

The 30-year-old has struggled desperately for form in the opening weeks of the season and it will deeply concern the captain that United purred in his absence in Saturday's 4-1 rout of Leicester.

But there was a time when he stood in Rashford's boots as the next great English hope, with the teenage kicks and the golden future - albeit having arrived in the United first team by a very different route.

ROONEY RECORD

3 goals vs Fenerbahce (September 28, 2004 - DEBUT)

Champions League

1 goal vs Arsenal (October 24, 2004)
2 goals vs Newcastle United (November 14, 2004)
1 goal vs Southampton (December 4, 2004)
1 goal vs Liverpool (January 15, 2005)
1 goal vs Exeter City (January 19, 2005) FA Cup
2 goals vs Middlesbrough (January 29, 2005)
1 goal vs Birmingham City (February 3, 2005 - 25th GAME)

RASHFORD RECORD

2 goals vs Midtjylland (February 25, 2016 - DEBUT) Europa League
2 goals vs Arsenal (February 28, 2016)
1 goal vs Manchester City (March 20, 2016)
1 goal vs West Ham (April 13, 2016) FA Cup
1 goal vs Aston Villa (April 16, 2016)
1 goal vs Bournemouth (May 17, 2016)
1 goal vs Hull City (August 27, 2016)
1 goal vs Watford (September 18, 2016)
1 goal vs Northampton Town (September 21, 2016) EFL Cup
1 goal vs Leicester City (September 24, 2016 - 25th GAME)

Signed from Everton for £25.6million at the end of August 2004, Rooney showed his abundant class with a hat-trick on his debut against Fenerbahce in the Champions League.

Rashford, a product of United's fabled academy, was fast-tracked into the first team by Louis van Gaal after Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up before a Europa League match with Midtjylland in February.

Embarrassingly, United trailed the Danish minnows 2-1 from the first leg and fell behind early on at Old Trafford. But Rashford rode to the rescue with two debut goals, inspiring an eventual 5-1 win.

Back in 2004, Rooney then scored the last-minute goal that confirmed United would halt the Arsenal Invincibles' unbeaten run at 49 games.

Fast forward 12 years and it was Rashford's double against the Gunners three days after his debut heroics that confirmed he was more than a mere flash in the pan.

In the ensuing weeks, Rooney would go on to score a crucial winner against Liverpool at Anfield, while Rashford memorably settled a Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium. Both were moments that certainly helped them gain cult status with United fans.

So after the first 25 outings of his United career, Rooney had notched 12 goals in all competitions.

And Rashford, after an excellent week that saw him score against Watford, Northampton Town and Leicester, has an identical scoring record.

Both players also gained England recognition early in their careers and, remarkably, both won their first cap against Australia.

Rooney had earned his first cap back in February 2003 and had 17 caps, nine goals and a European Championship under his belt by the time he joined United.

Rashford's sparkling form last season meant Roy Hodgson simply couldn't ignore him and, after scoring inside three minutes of his England debut, he won a place in his Euro 2016 squad.

Though Sam Allardyce demoted him to the Under 21s for the recent World Cup qualifier with Slovakia, it is surely a matter of time before he selects him.

So there are very similar trajectories between the early careers of Rooney and Rashford, but it's what happens next that counts.

Rooney continued scoring at a phenomenal rate and has 246 goals for United and a record 53 for England.

Rashford has quite some way to go to equal those feats, but he's certainly made a good start on the journey.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3806329/Marcus-Rashford-scored-12-goals-25-games-Manchester-United-precisely-record-Wayne-Rooney-stage.html

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Is Marcus Rashford the new Harry Kane? Now is the time for Manchester United to find out

* Manchester United will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the foreseeable future
* That should give Marcus Rashford the chance to prove his worth in a central role
* Harry Kane took his chance when given a prominent role in the Tottenham side

Manchester United produce great players. Not great strikers. Not lately. Great strikers, they buy. This may be why uncertainty continues to surround Marcus Rashford.

It should be his job to lead the line at United next year, the way the position fell to Harry Kane at Tottenham. Rashford went more than six months without a league goal this season, but spent a lot of that spell playing wide, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s foil.

We know what happens in those circumstances. Ibrahimovic takes up position A. Ibrahimovic is the target. And Rashford has started only 14 league games under Jose Mourinho; fewer than Marouane Fellaini and Jesse Lingard, the same number as Michael Carrick and Phil Jones.


Now is the time for Manchester United to find out if Marcus Rashford is able to lead the line

Given a start, centrally, against Chelsea he was magnificent. The next game he was wide again — but scored the winner when Ibrahimovic went off — the game after he was rested. Any inconsistencies in his play are hardly without mitigation.

So what next for Rashford? What if United, as they always do, buy a striker? Antoine Griezmann could be magnificent for United but not if his arrival forces Rashford inevitably into a secondary role, or to the flank again. Griezmann began as a wide forward, perfect for Rashford, but this season 37 of his 47 starts for Atletico Madrid have been at centre forward.

It is not as if Griezmann is at a similar stage in his career to Ibrahimovic, either. He is 26. He could be Manchester United’s main man for five years. How long before Rashford (right) gets the proper chance that Kane, say, was given?

Mark Hughes was the last homegrown player to be Manchester United’s top goalscorer, and even that achievement comes with a caveat. Hughes was produced by United, certainly, but the last season he was top goal-scorer was 1992-93, having been sold and then bought back from Barcelona, after a period at Bayern Munich on loan.

Meaning a player with Rashford’s pathway — youth team to first team, only with United — has not topped the charts since Hughes again, 1985-86, before his move to the Nou Camp. It is 31 years since United produced a player with Rashford’s potential as a goalscorer.

Danny Welbeck was good, but never trusted to be the match-winner, and the rest are buys. Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke — United buy goals. All the biggest clubs do. Goals are too important to be left to youth, it seems.

Barcelona have Lionel Messi, but in his time still bought Luis Suarez, Neymar, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry. The presence of Thomas Muller did not stop Bayern Munich recruiting Robert Lewandowski, and now only one of them is the striker.

The serious injury to Ibrahimovic means United will have to move for a forward this summer, whether Griezmann or an alternative, or both. Yet the impact for Rashford depends on how they line up next season.

Will Griezmann play as a wider forward or will he be central? Do United have the faith to make Rashford their Kane or Hughes; or will he end up just a better class of Danny Welbeck?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4445144/Is-Manchester-United-s-Marcus-Rashford-new-Harry-Kane.html

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Romelu Lukaku has scored 10 goals in his first nine games for Man United... but how does that record compare to other Old Trafford strikers?

* Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Manchester United beat CSKA Moscow 4-1
* It made it 10 goals in his first nine appearances since joining from Everton
* That exceeds the nine in nine scored by Bobby Charlton back in 1956
* Lukaku has also out-gunned all of United's Premier League era strikers

He's only been a Manchester United player a few weeks, but Romelu Lukaku is already setting higher standards than ever seen before at Old Trafford.

The Belgian striker's double against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night made light work of a potentially tricky Champions League away assignment and continued his outstanding start to life at United.

Lukaku has now scored 10 goals in his first nine appearances for the club, already paying off a sizeable chunk of that £75million transfer fee.

He scored his first competitive goal for United in the European Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid, before following that up with two goals against West Ham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Lukaku has since found the net against Swansea City, Stoke City, Everton and Southampton domestically, and also scored against Basle in the Champions League before his two out in Russia.

The first, just four minutes into the match, was a testament to Lukaku's strength as he powered home a header. The second was due to good fortune after Vasili Berezutsky's airshot came right through to him.

It helped maintain United's excellent start to the season and made Mourinho happy despite his gripes about the tight turnaround to Saturday's home match with Crystal Palace.


United manager Jose Mourinho congratulates Lukaku on another superb performance

Lukaku has hit the 10-goal milestone far quicker than his predecessors in the No 9 shirt - Zlatan Ibrahimovic needed 20 games last season, while Anthony Martial required 31 to achieve double figures.

In addition, no United striker in their modern history has a better goalscoring return after their first nine matches than Lukaku.

The closest comparison is with Dutchman Robin van Persie, who scored seven times in his first nine outings for United after joining from Arsenal in 2012.

This did include a hat-trick in a 3-2 win at Southampton, meaning he has one up on Lukaku who hasn't yet taken home a matchball while in United colours.

Wayne Rooney, who moved the other way to Everton in the summer, started his time at United with an impressive six goals in his first nine matches in 2004, including that unforgettable debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce.

GOALS SCORED IN FIRST NINE COMPETITIVE GAMES FOR UNITED

Romelu Lukaku (2017) - 10

Bobby Charlton (1956) - 9

Robin van Persie (2012) - 7

Dwight Yorke (1998) - 6

Wayne Rooney (2004) - 6

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (1996) - 5

Ruud van Nistelrooy (2001) - 5

Dimitar Berbatov (2008) - 5

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2016) - 5

Eric Cantona (1992) - 4

Dwight Yorke also scored half a dozen times in his first nine matches for United after arriving from Aston Villa in 1998. Yorke ended his first season with the Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

Another prolific Dutch forward, Ruud van Nistelrooy, started with five goals in his first nine United matches after signing in 2001 and this total is the same as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1996, Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic last season.

It certainly bodes well for Lukaku - and United - that he has started in such blistering form as they chase a first Premier League title win since 2013 and a first Champions League success since 2008.


Bobby Charlton scored nine times in his first nine games for United - including this one against Everton at Old Trafford in 1956

Indeed, going further back into the history books, Lukaku has actually bettered Bobby Charlton's return of nine in nine when he first broke into the United first team back in 1956.

Lukaku now needs to ensure this burst of early-season goals is sustained as he bids to propel United back to the pinnacle of both English and European football.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4928580/Romelu-Lukaku-scored-10-goals-nine-games.html

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Manchester United stars will dig out Marcus Rashford for closing his eyes... but Romelu Lukaku was the only striker 'shirking it' against Chelsea

* Gary Neville criticised Marcus Rashford for 'shirking' header against Chelsea
* The Manchester United star missed a header after appearing to close his eyes
* Romelu Lukaku was the real shirker after he was bullied out of Stamford Bridge

When you go up for a header, getting hurt is the last thing you think about. You only have eyes for the ball — scoring is your sole aim.

Marcus Rashford is a superb talent who has so many positive attributes.

I am sure his team-mates will have dug him out for ducking out of the header — but did any of them have the right to do so after that performance?


Marcus Rashford missed the opportunity to score after shirking in front of Thibaut Courtois. Gary Neville criticised the striker during commentary for 'shirking it' at Stamford Bridge

At least Rashford broke sweat. At 6ft 3in, Romelu Lukaku is one of the most physically imposing forwards in the Premier League.

Yet he was bullied all afternoon by Andreas Christensen — on only his fourth league start for Chelsea — and Cesar Azpilicueta who is almost half a foot shorter.

The accusation levelled at Lukaku is that he does not turn up for the big games. I do not like calling players out for a lack of effort but on this evidence, it is hard to argue.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5052329/Man-United-Marcus-Rashford-wasn-t-bad-Romelu-Lukaku.html

[penk22_]

JOSE : SYSTEM CAN ACCOMMODATE DUO



Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reaffirmed his belief that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku are capable of playing alongside each other, especially in a 3-5-2 formation.

The Reds manager has often employed a 4-2-3-1 system for much of the season so far, however, he has also set up with a 3-5-2, a formation which would allow the powerful pair to link up directly in attack.

In his pre-match media briefing ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United at Old Trafford, Mourinho admitted he foresees Ibrahimovic and Lukaku playing alongside each other in the near future, with the Swedish striker back from injury.

"[Ibrahimovic] can play everywhere and, this season, we’ve played with two strikers many times," the boss told the assembled press. "We’ve played [with two strikers] so many times, especially when we play with three at the back, with wing-backs, it allows us to bring in a second striker.

"We are ready to do it," he added. "We’ve been preparing ourselves since pre-season – when we started playing three at the back – so they can play together, no problem."

Mourinho was also keen to welcome Ibrahimovic back into the fold, and he revealed he was thrilled by the big Swede’s return, because of the extra attacking options he provides.

"I’m excited because I have more options," he said. "I’m excited because the team can be better. I’m excited because I want to have the best players available.

"But, you know, I don’t want to make a situation of Zlatan and Romelu because I can play Zlatan and Romelu, just Zlatan, just Romelu or it can be no-one," he added. "I always want options and now I have more options in attack."

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Nov/jose-mourinho-reveals-tactics-for-romelu-lukaku-and-zlatan-ibrahimovic-to-play-together.aspx

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic could have 'too much mentality' for Romelu Lukaku says Jamie Carragher as he fears the Manchester United strikers will be unable to play together up front

* Zlatan Ibrahimovic's ego 'could cause problems with him and Romelu Lukaku'
* Lukaku scored against Newcastle as Ibrahimovic returned from long-term injury
* Both Jamie Carragher and Craig Bellamy have doubts about them pairing up

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's big ego could cause problems between him and Manchester Unite strike partner Romelu Lukaku, fears Jamie Carragher.

Ibrahimovic returned from a seven-month absence due to a knee injury in the second half of United's win over Newcastle - and promptly played as centre forward with Lukaku pushed to the wing.

Lukaku responded by scoring the final goal in the 4-1 win, and Carragher hopes that strike gives the Belgian confidence to hold his own against Ibrahimovic's huge personality.


Zlatan Ibrahimovic's ego 'could cause problems between him and team mate Romelu Lukaku'


Lukaku and Ibrahimovic could fight for a single striking role in the Manchester United team

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Liverpool and England defender Carragher said: 'Lukaku's goal could be the most important in that 4-1 victory, because, if we are talking about Zlatan and the effect he is going to have on Manchester United – and it is brilliant for United to have a player of that quality – but when he comes on, it's hilarious, he tells Lukaku to get on the right wing and Lukaku does it. Zlatan is not going to do that job, and Lukaku doesn't want to do that either.

'The goal, the confidence it will give Lukaku having not scored in a while, and the big man's back calling himself a lion. I don't know if he (Zlatan) will have too much mentally and if it will effect Lukaku.

'You can imagine Zlatan in training, telling Lukaku to get on the right wing. Sooner or later, Lukaku is going to have to tell him, no you get on the right wing, I'm the £90m centre forward. I don't think they can play together.'

Lukaku was signed in the summer by Jose Mourinho while Ibrahimovic recovered from a serious knee injury - despite which United offered him a return to the club after his contract expired.

The Belgian has led the line ever since, although his goal against Newcastle ended an eight-game goal drought.

Ex-Premier League striker Craig Bellamy, who like Carragher was speaking as a pundit, thinks United will have to perform a delicate balancing act to keep both their star strikers happy.


Both Jamie Carragher and Craig Bellamy have doubts about a Lukaku-Ibrahimovic pairing

Bellamy said: 'The concern with Zlatan is that he always has been the main man wherever he has been. I imagine Lukaku really looks up to him.

'The energy Zlatan creates, it will be all about him, he's always known it that way. You can talk about the team, but forwards have to be different, you have to be that little bit selfish in what you do for the team, it needs to be about you because that is where you get your confidence, you win games.

'Lukaku can't play anywhere else apart from up front. There are going to be a lot of games, they are both going to get a lot of game time, the problem is when the big games arrive, later stages of Champions League, who is going to play in those'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5102081/Ibrahimovic-mentality-Lukaku.html

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Jose Mourinho believes Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic CAN play together and their combined firepower could define whether Man United's season is a success

* Jose Mourinho must find a way to keep strikers Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic content now the Swede has returned from his knee injury
* Man United manager believes the two could successfully play together up top
* It would certainly give United plenty of firepower for their pursuit of Man City
* But one of the two strikers may have to compromise and play the No 10 role

Jose Mourinho was speaking and it sounded like some sort of soap opera storyline was brewing.

'I don't want to make a situation of Zlatan and Romelu because it can be Zlatan and Romelu, it can be just Zlatan, it can be just Romelu, or it can be just no one,' said the Manchester United manager.

Mourinho was making a mental checklist of his options very much aware that successfully resolving the 'Zlatan and Romelu situation' could define the outcome of United's season.

He would have sensed the dilemma approaching from the beginning of the season, every time he saw 36-year-old Ibrahimovic working hard in the gym on what was a pretty superhuman recovery from serious knee ligament damage.

And it was made all the tougher by the outstanding start Lukaku, signed from Everton over the summer for £75million, made to life in United red.

Now the Swede has returned to full fitness, Mourinho quickly needs to find a way of accommodating two natural born goalscorers with strong wills, stubborn personalities and winning mentalities.

And even if there is a way of playing them both in the same forward line, Mourinho must then decide which of the team's creative players to sacrifice to make room. There will be no easy choices here but he's not one to shirk the tough decisions.

Yet at a moment in the season when United are starting to look a little toothless going forward despite their many, many possible attacking combinations, Mourinho could find two aces stuffed up his sleeve.


Getting Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to work together in tandem will be key to the success of Manchester United's season. United boss Jose Mourinho is confident the Swede and the Belgian can play in tandem

Mourinho is adamant that Lukaku and Ibrahimovic can work successfully in tandem - he said recently: 'It is easy, easy. Good players can play together. It is easy to play together.'

Such confidence suggests we will soon see the big Belgian and the Swedish veteran partnered together, possibly even in Tuesday night's Premier League visit to Watford.

With United eight points behind their rivals Manchester City at the top of the table and therefore unable to afford any slip-ups throughout the treacherous winter schedule, this boost to their firepower could well keep their season on track.

The two players have plenty in common. Both are tall and physically robust. They bully defenders, are commanding in the air and lethal finishers. Both have proud track records of scoring goals at the highest level.

Most managers would love to pair two such strikers of impeccable quality together yet the days of playing two centre forwards seem to have passed in favour of creative threes and flying wing-backs.

Then there is the clash of personalities. Introduced from the bench in each of United's last three games, Ibrahimovic has promptly shunted Lukaku out wide to the right.

For the man who self-defines as a 'lion' it was a case of reclaiming control of the pride from the young pretender.

If paired together, the two would probably have to mark out their territory in advance, but there is some room for compromise and Mourinho should work with it.

While Lukaku bustles around the penalty box, Ibrahimovic does like to drop back between the lines in search of the ball to get United moving forward. Don't forget Ibrahimovic also supplied 10 goals with the 28 he scored last season.

And Ibrahimovic has spoken previously about moving into more of a No 10 role to match the shirt number he assumed at the beginning of the season when Lukaku took his No 9.

'To me, No 10 is the star. The one who makes the difference, gets noticed, wins the matches and is the leader,' Ibra said this month. 'And I see myself in that position.'

Of course he does. So Ibrahimovic could play off Lukaku in the No 10 position, potentially with speedsters Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to his side, or the creative forces of Juan Mata or Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

In a United side struggling to keep pace with the frenetic goalscoring of Pep Guardiola's City, that set-up could help break down a few defensive barriers.

Ibrahimovic, a man who carries pressure effortlessly, will also alleviate the burden on Lukaku of being United's main striker.

After a blistering start of 10 goals in his first nine United appearances, the Belgian has gone off the boil with just the one goal - against Newcastle United - since.

It's possible that he simply needs a rest - Lukaku has started and finished every United Premier League and Champions League match this season.

Including international games, Lukaku has played 1,937 minutes already, considerably higher than any other striker in the top six clubs.

Perhaps this burn-out explained his lack of sharpness in front of goal in Saturday's narrow win over Brighton, not to mention twice kicking out at Gaetan Bong, an incident for which he was lucky to escape a three-game ban.

The two strikers played together can share the burden and offer United so much in attack. If Mourinho feels confident they can play together, it's definitely worth a shot.

A Lukaku-Ibrahimovic strike partnership may well propel United to another level, offering hope that the Premier League title race isn't as done and dusted as it currently looks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5124379/Romelu-Lukaku-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-play-together.html

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku can't play together from the start for Manchester United... this experiment shouldn't happen again

* Manchester United drew 2-2 at home to Burnley on Boxing Day afternoon
* Zlatan Ibrahimovic started his first game in 261 days for the Red Devils
* Ibrahimovic started as a No 10 for United behind striker Romelu Lukaku
* Yet, the pair didn't click up front and Ibrahimovic was substituted at half-time

It would be somewhat of a stretch to call this an experiment but, whatever it was, it should not happen again. At least from the start anyway.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never been an effective No 10. And he never will be. He slows Manchester United down.

As a result, Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku together did not work for on Boxing Day. That it ever will seems highly improbable.

Part of Jose Mourinho's thinking will undoubtedly have come down to United's lack of killer instinct at Leicester, that he wanted his two deadliest finishers in the same team to prove a point.

But it failed spectacularly, something Mourinho clearly recognised when hauling Ibrahimovic off at half-time with United two goals down and having laboured in the final third.

With backs to goal, they ran into the same spaces. Otherwise, Ibrahimovic was seen coming too deep in search of possession, isolating Lukaku. Burnley's defending was admirable, throwing themselves in front of everything, but they were never truly under the pump.


Zlatan Ibrahimovic had an afternoon to forget as Manchester United toiled against Burnley


So did Romelu Lukaku - as the duo failed to click together up front during the first half. Lukaku looked isolated at times up front during the first half with Ibrahimovic playing No 10

Until the half-time reshuffle, that is. The vibrancy and zest with which United played immediately after the restart suggested a combination of Lukaku and Ibrahimovic is one not required at this juncture.

Mourinho has too many busy - and crucially, nippy - attackers at his disposal to go with these two together as a Plan A. They have rather passed Ibrahimovic by, sadly.

There is a school of thought around the club that the 36-year-old was too fixated on making a swift return - playing to the lion narrative he created - than actually finding proper sharpness after his knee ligament injury.

Mourinho has been relatively short when quizzed about Ibrahimovic over the last month too, and that this was his first start - his first in the Premier League for 261 days - points to the manager's belief that he's not really been ready.

To be honest, it felt like he was shoehorned in against Burnley. 'There are spaces where a No 10 plays, and where Ibrahimovic - even when he was No 9 - spaces where he feels comfortable to play,' Mourinho said last week as an act of pre-emptive justification.

That did not feel strictly true at Old Trafford. Crosses were swung in with the Swede on his heels outside the box. He lazily chipped forward passes aimlessly while breaking for a lack of speed.

He even betrayed his instincts, a by-product of his position, which is scarily unlike him. With United on top, Ibrahimovic loitered beyond the central defenders dangerously.

Left back Charlie Taylor followed him, playing the striker onside, only for Ibrahimovic to suddenly realise where he was: beyond Lukaku. He reverted to type and dropped off, brain scrambled. It encapsulated his head-scratching 45 minutes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5213343/Ibrahimovic-Lukaku-starting-didnt-work-Man-Utd.html

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Jose Mourinho says Man United won't need any more attacking players for a while after signing Alexis Sanchez

* Alexis Sanchez scored his first Man United goal in 2-0 win over Huddersfield
* Chilean forward joined from Arsenal in swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan
* He scored at second time of asking after seeing his penalty saved
* Jose Mourinho has ruled out any further attacking signings in the summer

Jose Mourinho is confident Manchester United won't require any further attacking reinforcements after the signing of Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean forward joined from Arsenal in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan last month, meaning United have plenty of options going forward.

Sanchez scored his first goal for United in Saturday's 2-0 home win over Huddersfield Town, tucking home the rebound after his penalty had been saved.

Mourinho wants Sanchez to play in various positions across United's front line, further supporting the argument that no further attacking buys will be needed this summer.

United have been linked with the likes of Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann in recent windows, but Mourinho insists they will focus on other areas.

'Exactly, that is the point, that is the objective,' said Mourinho.

'We have only one No 9 - there is also Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] but let's forget Zlatan for the moment - and from having only one No 9, now we have more No 9s.

'We have Alexis, we have [Romelu] Lukaku, we have [Anthony] Martial, we have [Marcus] Rashford. Rashford can play on the left or on the right. Alexis is exactly the same.


United manager Jose Mourinho has ruled out further attacking signings after Sanchez arrived

'All of them, apart from Lukaku, can play from behind as a second striker, that's why I say it is bad for you. You like to have things to write and things to speculate, especially in the summer.

'But I don't want attacking players, so don't speak about attacking players that are coming here because nobody is coming here.

'We have [Juan] Mata, Lukaku, Rashford, Martial and Alexis. I don't want [any more] attacking players.

'For speculation in the summer, you have to go to other areas. Attacking players, I am really happy with.

'We have to improve, not in the quality of the players, but in the dynamic of the team and the efficiency. Even against Huddersfield is a game to score more goals than two.'

Having dropped Paul Pogba following a touchline argument with the Frenchman during last Wednesday's 2-0 loss at Tottenham, Mourinho saw United pass up plenty of chances before Lukaku gave them a 55th-minute lead.

Sanchez then won the penalty, scoring at the second time of asking, to open his account for United.

Pogba, who was replaced in the midfield by young Scott McTominay, did eventually come on for Jesse Lingard with 25 minutes remaining.

'You saw the reaction - coming to the pitch with a great desire to play,' added Mourinho.

'To be honest, at half-time he was all ready. I can analyse body language. He was showing he was ready, with the physio and starting his warm-up.

'He showed the way he took it in a very professional way.'

United travel to Newcastle United in their next Premier League fixture this Sunday.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5352307/Jose-Mourinho-rules-Man-United-attacking-buys.html