Red-letter day in tight title chase Ibrahimovic has the aura of Cantona

BRING IT ON: Manchester United manager José Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are prepared to compete all the way WHEN Manchester United played Paris St-Germain (PSG) in the summer of 2015, the thoroughness with which we prepared under Louis van Gaal meant even for a friendly match it was my job to analyse the opposition’s key strengths, and identify ways to stop them. Despite PSG’s many big names, it was obvious watching the footage that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star of the show. He dropped so deep to get possession he would be in midfield at times and, despite his goalscoring record for the club, there were periods when he was way away from goal. At PSG Ibrahimovic controlled the ball and brought others, like Edinson Cavani and Lucas Moura, into the game. He was an attacking point, a man to whom the ball was played up to in the knowledge that it would stick. Now, as archrivals Liverpool prepare to face United’s No 9 at Old Trafford today, they will have noticed that, for José Mourinho’s team, Ibrahimovic is much more of an orthodox centre-forward. He holds his position, he makes the runs you would expect of an out-andout striker. Although, one thing remains the same as at PSG — he still scores lots of goals. Ibrahimovic has been a great signing for United, and a very consistent performer. He is one of those few players in the game who you can say has an aura rather than just a reputation. There have been comparisons made with the effect that Eric Cantona had when he joined United in 1992 and then Henrik Larsson in 2007, and I would agree that similarities exist. At 26, Cantona was considerably younger than Ibrahimovic and he was coming in to a very experienced side. Just as the Frenchman, Cantona, had the absolute trust of Alex Ferguson so Ibrahimovic seems to have that relationship with Mourinho. That is what good managers do with top players . . . they back them unequivocally. Like Ibrahimovic, Swede Larsson was 35 when he came on loan to United in 2007. He was a superb professional whose influence was very strong in the dressing room. — The Daily Telegraph KEY MAN: Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, left, and Jürgen Klopp are out to end Manchester United’s run of form