Mourinho’s United off to flying start

MANCHESTER United made a brilliant start to the Jose Mourinho era as goals from Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed a 3-1 win in their English Premier League opener at Bournemouth yesterday.

Mourinho is desperate to restore his tarnished reputation after being sacked by Chelsea last season. The United manager enjoyed an encouraging return to the touchline in his first league match since a December defeat at Leicester City triggered his exit from Stamford Bridge.

In the absence of Paul Pogba, their world-record signing, United eased to victory after Mata punished a horrible mistake by Bournemouth defender Simon Francis just before half time and Rooney added the second after the interval.

That set the stage for the latest memorable moment in Ibrahimovic’s glittering career as the Swedish forward netted with a fine strike to mark his Premier League debut in the same goal-scoring style he celebrated his maiden appearances in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Champions League. After a lackadaisical first half, United moved smoothly through the gears once Mata opened the scoring and, although Adam Smith got one back for Bournemouth, Mourinho will hope to build on the momentum from this result as he eyes a title challenge.

“I’m very happy. Bournemouth always start with great intensity, but we kept our control,“Mourinho said.

Bournemouth were United’s opponents when they concluded a frustrating league campaign last season.