Ibrahimovic is tremendous even if he does not score – Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a “tremendous player” whether he scores or not after the Swede struck to sink Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League.

Ibrahimovic netted the only goal of the game when he headed home Wayne Rooney’s mishit effort and Mourinho hailed the powerful attacker’s overall contribution after the final whistle.

“Ibrahimovic is a tremendous player,” Mourinho told MUTV.

“Even if he is not scoring goals, the dynamic he brings to the team, the movement and the leadership in attacking organisation, no-one can believe his age.

“What matters is the quality and his quality is amazing.”

Mourinho also had his say on Rooney’s situation following the England international’s role in Thursday’s win, with the forward having lost his starting berth in their last two games.

“Rooney was laughing and said he made a great assist,” Mourinho added.

“He gave me what the team needed at the time, which was a second presence in the box. He is more of a striker than Juan [Mata], and Juan went more to the right-hand side [when Wayne came on].

“We started the game with a very good team, and I also had players on the bench to give me solutions for everything.”