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What to Expect from Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Led Attack
- Updated: July 27, 2016
The question being addressed here is what to expect from a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-focused attack at Manchester United, but the most exciting thing about the Swede is his gift for the unexpected.
Consider the goal he scored for Paris Saint-Germain against SC Bastia in the 2013/14 season. Lucas Moura tore down the right flank and drilled a cross into the left-hand side of the box, level with the penalty spot. Hervin Ongenda flicked the ball into the air and toward the edge of the six-yard area, where Ibrahimovic lurked.
Tightly marked by two defenders, the Sweden international looked as if he would have to knock the ball down for one of his team-mates. It would not have been a surprise to see the defenders clear the danger.
What happened next was a moment of pure football magic. What happened next was pure Ibrahimovic.
Instead of trying to control the ball on his chest, or head it down toward a team-mate, the striker flicked out his right boot and volleyed a waist-high back-heel into the net. It was, quite simply, sublime.
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That moment of fantasy was one of the many Ibrahimovic has called into being throughout his career.
For Sweden against Italy at Euro 2004, he scored another waist-high back-heel. Against England in 2012, he bicycle-kicked Joe Hart’s headed clearance into the back of the net from 30 yards—the strike which won 2013’s goal of the year due to missing the voting deadline for 2012.
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There are goals at Ibrahimovic’s disposal that simply do not feature in the arsenal of almost any other forward, but his game is not just about the spectacular moments.
At PSG last season, he was the spearhead of one of Europe’s most functional attacking units. He scored 38 goals in 31 league appearances, five in 10 in the UEFA Champions League.
Add to that 13 league assists and three in Europe, and his direct contribution to goals last term in those competitions stands at 59.
As well as the obvious questions about a 34-year old arriving in the Premier League for the first time, one of the key questions around his move to Old Trafford is whether his team-mates will be able to form into the kind of support system he had in Paris.
Given the fact that United’s position in the Premier League is more competitive than PSG’s in Ligue 1 and that he will be part of a new attack, it seems unlikely he will hit those numbers again.
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However, considering United scored just 80 goals in all competitions as a club last season, there will surely be a …
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