Zlatan Ibrahimovic made it 10 goals in nine games in Manchester United’s 2-0 win against West Brom on Saturday.
The Swede is quashing those pre-season concerns about whether or not he could cut it in the Premier League with each passing game. Only Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez have scored more league goals than Ibrahimovic this season, who now has 16 in all competitions.
It’s becoming clear that United’s hopes of finishing in the top four could rest on the 35-year-old’s shoulders.
That’s probably not the situation Jose Mourinho hopes to find himself in the spring. Though Ibra is shining at the minute, it wouldn’t be a major surprise if his form tails off towards the latter stages of the season.
The former Paris Saint-Germain was afforded an extended break before joining up with his new teammates in the summer but he won’t have the luxury of a winter break – which he had in France – this time around.
At the minute, Ibra is the key man. Via Squawka, he’s the only United player to score more than 10 goals in the Premier League this season – he only arrived in July.
Steven Gerrard was a pundit for BT Sport as Mourinho’s side buried West Brom, and the former Liverpool midfielder believes Ibrahimovic’s supporting cast must do more.
“The worry for United would be if [Ibrahimovic] got an injury, or he has a dip in form,” Gerrard said, via the Daily Mail.
“Is there enough goals around him? The likes of Pogba, Mata, Rooney they do have to help him by chipping in a bit more.”
Gerrard has a point. While Ibrahimovic has bagged 16 goals, Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata have combined to score 13 times.
Gerrard didn’t mention Marcus Rashford’s name but the 19-year-old starlet has had an underwhelming season. He burst onto the scene last season but is finding extensive minutes hard to come by under Mourinho and hasn’t scored in his last 16 appearances.
Mourinho has admitted that he needs to rest Ibrahimovic to avoid burnout, but he knows he can’t.
At the minute, the United boss is getting away with playing Ibrahimovic in every game, but for how much longer?