Rooney Expects More Magic From Ibrahimovic After Goal

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is expecting “many more” moments of magic from Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the Swedish striker scored an acrobatic effort in the fourth minute of his debut for the club during a 5-2 win against Galatasaray in Gothenburg.
Rooney, who scored two second-half goals for United to overturn a 2-1 half-time deficit, also said that Ibrahimovic has been getting on with his teammates and brings an “aura” with him.
The England player said: “It was a great goal from him. It was good for the team. He’s a fantastic player, he showed what he is capable of doing, and I am sure there will be many more moments like that from him.”
English audiences are aware of Ibrahimovic’s ability to perform acrobatics, after his stunning goal for Sweden in their 4-2 win against England at Stockholm in November 2012.
Rooney added: “I didn’t play [in the Stockholm game] thankfully. It’s exactly what we need. We have seen him do special things throughout his career and I am sure he will do that for us this season.
“He is a great signing for us, [has] a lot of experience. He’s been a successful player wherever he has been and hopefully he will be for us as well.
“He’s a nice fella, a normal guy. He gets on well with everyone. He is good to have around the dressing room and certainly will be good to have on the pitch with the aura he brings with him.”
Rooney started the game against Galatasaray in the No. 10 role but struggled during the first half. Mourinho has told Rooney that he sees him as a No. 10 this season, the Englishman confirmed.
All four of United’s attacking players were substituted at half-time apart from Rooney — with Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial all being taken off.
The former Everton striker said that it was always part of manager Mourinho’s plan to give him more than 45 minutes, saying: “It’s always tough in your first game back to get back into it.”
He added: “The plan was always to stay on into the second half. The important thing is minutes. Of course you want to win, but the important thing is getting fit for the start of the season so that was the plan.
“The lads who came off at half-time haven’t been back as long as we have so that’s why they came off.”
Marcus Rashford was one of the players who was brought on at half-time and he was impressive again. The 18-year-old won the penalty which Rooney converted to give United a 3-2 lead.
Rooney said: “His movement was great. He causes problems for defenders with his pace. He played really well when he came on. He’ll be a real asset for us this season.”