ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC’S goal in the 88th minute earned Man United three points on the road at Selhurst Park on Wednesday.

    Jose Mourinho had seen his team’s dominance yield only draws too often of late, but here they did what this club used to do as a matter of course.

    Their progress feels more serene when an unbeaten league run is extended to seven games by successive victories, however narrow.

    This win was chiselled from the visitors’ most dominant period of play, the winner created by the contest’s most influential performer and scored by a forward who has always delighted in stamping his influence all over occasions such as this.

    Paul Pogba capitalized on Yohan Cabaye’s slip two minutes from time to gain possession and consider his pass, sliding his delivery beyond Scott Dann and along the edge of the penalty area.

    There darted Ibrahimovic, timing his diagonal run perfectly, with his finish dispatched crisply beyond the on-rushing Wayne Hennessey from an unkind angle and into the net.

    It was an eighth goal in as many games for the Swede, whose influence on this side should not purely be measured in terms of that impressive tally. “I told him this isn’t the best place to play if you’re looking for holidays,” said Mourinho.

    “When a rich guy who has already had a phenomenal career wants holidays, he doesn’t come to play in England. It’s the most difficult league in the world, so if you come here you want to show what you can do. That’s what he did. It’s not just about goals. It’s about leadership and motivation, and I’m so happy with what he’s done. I knew his character and, at his age, he’s a character. A personality. Because he has the passion to play.”

    He had the kind of supply-line here, largely from Pogba, for which Christian Benteke was pining at the other end of the pitch.

    The Frenchman’s understanding with Ibrahimovic could yet be key to United mounting that assault on the top four – they are six points shy of Manchester City at present.(SD-Agencies)