Ibrahimovic scores twice, MU wins third consecutive match

In the early morning of December 18, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic shined with a double, helping Manchester United (MU) defeat West Brom 2-0 at The Hawthorns in round 17 of the English Premier League.

Ibrahimovic's joy after opening the score for MU Photo: Reuters

MU started the match at The Hawthorns very well when they found the opening goal in the first attack. In the 5th minute, from a move on the right wing, Jesse Lingard escaped to receive a long pass from Valencia and then made a cross for Ibrahimovic to head past goalkeeper Ben Foster, opening the score of the match.

The early goal relieved the pressure on Jose Mourinho’s players, helping the “Red Devils” play better in the following minutes. In addition, West Brom’s push up the formation to find an equalizer also helped MU play easier and opportunities continued to come to the visitors after fast attacks.

In the 23rd minute, the opportunity came to MU again after a beautiful attack in the middle. But this time luck was not on the "red devils" side when striker Wayne Rooney's tricky shot in the penalty area after defeating goalkeeper Foster hit the crossbar.

MU players celebrate the goal that increased the score to 2-0. Photo: Reuters

Although Rooney, and then Jesse Lingard, both missed good chances, MU still scored a second goal thanks to Ibrahimovic's brilliance. In the 56th minute, receiving the ball from Rooney's pass, Ibrahimovic used his technique to get past two West Brom defenders and then fired a powerful shot from a tight angle. The ball hit defender Craig Dawson's foot and changed direction to the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Foster helpless, raising the score to 2-0 for MU.

Not only did MU attack well, they were also solid in defense, giving West Brom's strikers no chance to threaten goalkeeper De Gea's goal and maintaining the score of 2-0 until the end of the match.

This is the third consecutive win for coach Mourinho and his team. With this win, MU caught up with Tottenham (who have not played round 17) on the rankings with 30 points but are still behind due to a lower goal difference. However, because Chelsea also won this round, the gap between MU and Chelsea after round 17 is still 13 points.

According to TTO