DUBLIN, Sept 30: Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed in a 69th-minute winner as Manchester United got their Europa League campaign off the ground with a laboured 1-0 home win over Zorya Luhansk.
Beaten 1-0 at Feyenoord in their Group A opener, Jose Mourinho�s side struggled to break down their unadventurous Ukrainian opponents until the introduction from the bench of Wayne Rooney.
The England captain�s mishit shot was headed in by Ibrahimovic to leave United a point behind group leaders Fenerbahce, who visit Old Trafford on October 20.
�It was difficult,� said Mourinho. �We had our chances in the first half. We could have scored and it would have been a different match. But we didn�t.
�They kept organised and had plenty of players behind the ball, but with players ready to do something on the counter-attack. It was difficult and we needed to win.
�One week, three defeats. One week, three victories. But I was not depressed by the defeats and I am not over the moon with three wins.�
It was a far from fluent United performance, but it maintained their upturn in form following the recent run of three straight defeats that had destroyed their early-season momentum.
Zorya, UEFA group-phase debutants, became United�s 100th continental opponents and they threatened to create a sensation when Zeljko Ljubenovic ballooned over from Ivan Petriak�s cut-back.
In the main, though, they sat back, packing men behind the ball in a 4-5-1 formation, and United struggled to play through them.
Ibrahimovic had a shot deflected wide by Dmytro Grechyshkin, but as in last Saturday�s 4-1 win over league champions Leicester City, the hosts looked most threatening from corners in the first half. � Agencies
DUBLIN, Sept 30: Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed in a 69th-minute winner as Manchester United got their Europa League campaign off the ground with a laboured 1-0 home win over Zorya Luhansk.
Beaten 1-0 at Feyenoord in their Group A opener, Jose Mourinho�s side struggled to break down their unadventurous Ukrainian opponents until the introduction from the bench of Wayne Rooney.
The England captain�s mishit shot was headed in by Ibrahimovic to leave United a point behind group leaders Fenerbahce, who visit Old Trafford on October 20.
�It was difficult,� said Mourinho. �We had our chances in the first half. We could have scored and it would have been a different match. But we didn�t.
�They kept organised and had plenty of players behind the ball, but with players ready to do something on the counter-attack. It was difficult and we needed to win.
�One week, three defeats. One week, three victories. But I was not depressed by the defeats and I am not over the moon with three wins.�
It was a far from fluent United performance, but it maintained their upturn in form following the recent run of three straight defeats that had destroyed their early-season momentum.
Zorya, UEFA group-phase debutants, became United�s 100th continental opponents and they threatened to create a sensation when Zeljko Ljubenovic ballooned over from Ivan Petriak�s cut-back.
In the main, though, they sat back, packing men behind the ball in a 4-5-1 formation, and United struggled to play through them.
Ibrahimovic had a shot deflected wide by Dmytro Grechyshkin, but as in last Saturday�s 4-1 win over league champions Leicester City, the hosts looked most threatening from corners in the first half. � Agencies
