Bharath Rammr
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has created history by becoming the oldest player in the Premier League to score more than 15 goals in a league campaign – as per The Sun. The 35-year-old scored the second goal in the 3-0 win over Leicester City during the weekend. This goal helped him move level with Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa at the top of the goalscoring charts. It also helped him become the oldest player in the league to have scored 15 goals. Not many would have expected the impact from the big Swede, but he has managed to accomplish this feat at 35 years and 125 days.
The former Inter Milan, AC Milan, Barcelona, Juventus, Ajax, and Paris St Germain forward was brought in by manager Jose Mourinho on a free transfer in the summer. The move was largely seen as being similar to the deals that brought Samuel Eto’o to Chelsea when the Portuguese manager was at the club for his second spell. Mourinho has managed Ibrahimovic in the past, but even he may have been left surprised with the impact that he has been having in the league so far. Ibrahimovic went through a dry period during the months of October and many questioned about his ability to keep on going until the end of the season at this age.
Yet, he has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the club. Incredibly, he has managed 20 goals and six assists in these appearances. The goals from the forward could actually help the club win a major honour midway through the season. United are up against Southampton in the EFL Cup final, and they are overwhelming favourites to win the title. This would also be Jose Mourinho’s first trophy in charge of the club – after the Community Shield. Mourinho has always prioritised the League Cup more than any other trophy, as he believes that it can galvanise the team in the second half of the season.
The goal against Leicester was probably highly important for Ibrahimovic, as he looked like being on the verge of yet another drought. He had not scored in the last three games coming into this match. Incidentally, United have failed to win the three games – all of which finished as a draw. Despite the comfortable victory, United still remain in the sixth spot. They have been unbeaten in the league since the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea back in October.
Ibrahimovic has been so good for United that the club are reportedly mulling at the possibility of offering the player a new two-year contract or even taking up the option of another year in his existing contract. The current contract for the 35-year-old runs out in the summer.
