Ibrahimovic Earns Manchester United A trophy On His Wembley Debut As Superstar's Towering Late Header Sinks Leicester

MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 LEICESTER - IAN LADYMAN AT WEMBLEY: Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his competitive debut for Manchester United with the winning goal to secure his side the Community Shield against Leicester. 

The Foxes started the brighter of the two teams when Shinji Okazaki hit the crossbar, but it was United who made the breakthrough when Jesse Lingard produced a fine solo goal before half-time. A Marouane Fellaini howler in the second half enabled Jamie Vardy to level things up, before Ibrahimovic's back-post header secured United the victory.


Mourinho will not try to change Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He will not try to mess with the formula. He will merely try to provide a platform on which his new centre forward can flourish and if he can manage that, Ibrahimovic may well repay him in spades.
Already, only 94 minutes into his year at Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic has won his team a game. In doing that, he won them a trophy.



It's not a bad start for a player who we sense will either succeed or fail at United, with nothing in between, and the manner of the Swede's winning goal will have heartened all those who had to sit through Van Gaal's mundanity for two years.
It was everything you want from a number nine, really.


A towering leap from a standing start, it was too much for Leicester captain Wes Morgan, a defender who proved too obdurate for most centre forwards last season. And then there was the header, perfectly weighted to reach the far post, perfectly directed to beat Kasper Schmeichel's grasp and nudge the upright on its way in.
Yes, Ibrahimovic was offside. He was standing fractionally the wrong side of Morgan when Antonio Valencia delivered a cross from the right side. Leicester will be irritated by that and rightly so.

But United will not overlook what this goal means. Once more they have a real number nine and, if he stays fit, focussed and motivated, who knows what difference that may make to them in Mourinho's first season at Old Trafford.
There were seven minutes to go when Ibrahimovic struck. When it comes to scoring goals, timing is everything, in more ways than one.
Leicester contributed a spirited performance here in a game they clearly wanted to win badly. They came again after United's winner but time was not their friend.
Overall, Claudio Ranieri's team will be disappointed to lose a game they didn't deserve to but can at least reflect on playing their part on an afternoon that was as competitive as it was entertaining.

Perhaps it was the back stories of both teams that made this such a watchable game. Leicester had not been to Wembley for years while United were looking to re-establish a place among the country's elite.
Whatever the reason, this was as afternoon of committed play, an afternoon that suggested Leicester will not simply go away this season and one that suggested that United have bought well in bringing in the young central defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal.