WITH Zlatan Ibrahimovic having an off day, Manchester United turned to a striker at the opposite end of his career to keep its winning run going in the English Premier League on Saturday.

    Marcus Rashford came off the bench and scored two minutes into injury time to give United a 1-0 victory at Hull, lifting the team alongside Chelsea on a maximum nine points.

    The 18-year-old Rashford was a revelation in the second half of last season, scoring eight goals after coming from the youth set-up to solve an injury crisis, but has been displaced by offseason signing Ibrahimovic under new coach Jose Mourinho.

    He has just given Mourinho some thinking to do.

    Rashford came on in the 71st minute with United struggling to break down Hull’s stoic defense and in danger of dropping points for the first time. Along with fellow sub Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Rashford changed the dynamic of the game with his direct running and was on hand to tap in the winning goal after Wayne Rooney raced clear down the left and sent over a cross.

    “We did everything to win,” Mourinho said. “I know when you score (in) minute 90-something, you talk of a bit of luck. But we were so dominant, so intense in our attacking wave.”

    United has won its first three games of the season for the first time since 2011, when Alex Ferguson was still in charge. It’s early days but United under Mourinho is beginning to have the same aura as Ferguson’s sides, and even scoring goals in so-called “Fergie Time.”

    The 34-year-old Ibrahimovic was well-shackled by the Hull defense and missed out on becoming only the second United player to score in his first four games for the club.

    Chelsea had it much easier against another promoted club.

    Eden Hazard, Willian, and Victor Moses scored in a 3-0 win over Burnley at Stamford Bridge, with a ruthless performance reminiscent of those produced in the team’s title-winning campaign in 2014-15, when Mourinho was Chelsea coach. (SD-Agencies)