SOUTHAMPTON
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC claimed earlier in the season that like good wine he gets better with age.
No one was arguing yesterday as the Swedish veteran continued his remarkable debut season for Manchester United by securing them the EFL Cup while breaking Southampton hearts.
Jose Mourinho was certainly raising a glass last night to toast the 35-year-old, whose finishing skills proved the difference in a thrilling final and helped his boss carve a couple more significant notches in his impressive managerial record.
He has become the first United manager to win a major trophy in his first season in charge and has now moved alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough as the only managers to have won the League Cup four times.
For rival boss Claude Puel it was confirmation of his worst pre-game fears. Ibrahimovic scored 11 goals in eight games against his Nice team in France and proved his nemesis again yesterday.
Ibrahimovic did not actually have the best of games but can produce the moments that matter and there was no doubting the quality of his strikes – the free-kick that put United ahead and the powerful header that won it late on.
That is 26 for the season now and at this rate he could easily get 40, with United still in the FA Cup and Europa League and with 13 games left to play in the league.
But the result was hard on Southampton, who were the better team for most of the game, had fought back to level from 2-0 down and looked the more likely winners as the game went on.
Saints had enjoyed some warmweather training in Spain during their 15-day break since their last game and it looked like it had done them the world of good.
While United looked heavy-legged after playing three games in the previous 10 days, Saints were full of running and aggression and constantly exposed United on the flanks. That was underlined when Manolo Gabbiadini tapped in Cedric Soares’ cross only for the goal to be controversially ruled out by referee Andre Marriner and his assistant.
Replays showed Gabbiadini was onside but Ryan Bertrand, running in beyond him and not interfering with play, was ruled offside when the ‘goal’ should have stood. To rub salt into the wounds, Ibrahimovic put United ahead with a 25-yard free-kick that went over Steven Davis’s head in the wall and left Fraser Forster grasping thin air.
When Jesse Lingard justified his selection by continuing his Wembley scoring habit, it looked as if United might be home and hosed far earlier than expected.
Unlike his FA Cup final winner last season and Community Shield solo goal, this was a less spectacular strike – a cool side-foot finish from just inside the box after an intricate passing move involving Marcos Rojo, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial.
Saints allowed Lingard too much space. He was able to take a touch from Rojo’s pass and pick his spot.
Puel’s lively team did not deserve to be two down on the balance of play but put themselves right back into it when Gabbiadini nudged in