Jose’s ready to bring rivals to heel in title bid
Henrikh’s stunner helps keep Reds rolling as boss looks up
JOSE MOURINHO last night vowed to hunt down the teams above Manchester United after the Reds maintained their winning run.
United made it four Premier League wins in a row with goals from Daley Blind, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a spectacular back-heeled strike from substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
That made it a miserable return to Old Trafford for former boss David Moyes whose Sunderland side remain in the drop zone.
Mourinho’s men sit sixth but the Old Trafford boss is now confident his players can close the gap on the teams ahead of them.
He said: “I don’t care about the table. I care about the way we play, I care about our results and to get the maximum points possible.
“Last week, Man City against Arsenal, somebody had to lose points and more of those matches will come. We’re playing well.
“We’ve had good performances for quite some time. Finally we have the good results – four victories and 12 points in a row.”
Ibrahimovic scored to take his season’s tally to 17, with Mourinho confirming United’s board have sanctioned the extension of the striker’s contract for next season.
Mourinho said: “He’s ready for more next season, he’ll be here.”
Mkhitaryan hailed his stunning 86th-minute back-heeled effort as the greatest goal of his career despite replays confirming he was offside.
The Armenian said: “It’s the best goal I ever scored. I was expecting the ball in front of me but I got it behind me so the only thing I could do was hit with the back-heel.”
United deserved the victory – enjoying 63 per cent of possession and having a total of 25 shots on goal – but only a first-half Blind effort separated the teams until the final 10 minutes.
The Dutchman was put through by a delightful Ibrahimovic pass and he fired into the corner for his first goal of the season.
United doubled their advantage with Paul Pogba setting up Ibrahimovic with eight minutes left.
Mkhitaryan added gloss to the scoreline with that brilliant back-heeled effort.
If Moyes had feared a hostile reaction from United fans, the reception he was afforded – one of complete indifference – was far more humiliating.
But there was a bear hug from United mascot Fred the Red, which showed that Moyes retained some friends at the Theatre of Dreams, despite presiding over the club’s dramatic fall from grace.
Moyes said: “The reception was fine. Manchester United supporters are knowledgeable. They’ve seen some good teams and bad teams.”