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Goal of the Day: Zlatan's first PL strike

Saturday 02 November 2019 06:00

Saturday's 'Goal of the Day' is Zlatan Ibrahimovic's superb strike against Bournemouth, on his Premier League debut in August 2016.

Background: Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s highly anticipated arrival at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016 didn’t disappoint, as his United career started with a winning goal against Leicester in the Community Shield. In his next match against Bournemouth, his first Premier League outing, the Swede was aiming to extend an already impressive record of netting on his first appearances in Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1.

The goal: The Reds were 2-0 up following goals from Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney before Zlatan struck shortly after the hour mark. Anthony Martial evaded Harry Arter’s challenge to poke the ball to Ibrahimovic, who took a couple of touches before arrowing a precise right-footed strike past Artur Boruc from 25 yards out.
What happened next: Bournemouth pulled a goal back through full-back Adam Smith but the Reds still secured a comfortable 3-1 victory on the opening day of the 2016/17 Premier League season. The following week Zlatan netted twice against Southampton on his first appearance at the Theatre of Dreams, and went on to end his one full season as a Red with 28 goals.

Reaction: Zlatan displayed his elite mentality during his post-match interview at the Liberty Stadium, shrugging: “The first objective is to win, the second if I can score and help the team like that, it’s also good. For me the victory is the most important, then whoever scores it’s a bonus.”

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