Jose Mourinho was clearly in no mood for an FA Cup replay cluttering up an already crowded schedule for Manchester United in the next few weeks and his decision to throw Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic into the thick of the action at Ewood Park today immediately paid dividends.
With United struggling to find a breakthrough in the second half, the United manager turned to his star studded bench for inspiration and found it in the young Frenchman and the veteran Swede.
The former Juventus midfielder picked the ball up inside his own half and casually pinged it over the Rovers defence to a very receptive Ibrahimovic, who clinically did the rest to send United into a 2-1 lead against a resilient Blackburn Rovers.
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The effort was Ibrahimovic's first ever FA Cup goal, meaning the former Sweden captain has now scored in cup competitions in seven different countries.
At the time of writing, the score remains 2-1 and Jose Mourinho will be hoping it remains that way, with United's fixture list incredibly crowded in the final few months of the season. Next week sees the Red Devils play the return leg of their Europa League tie with St. Etienne before contesting the EFL Cup final with Southampton.
They don't play again in the Premier League until 4th March when they host Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Featured Image Credit: BT SportTopics: Blackburn Rovers, Paul Pogba, Football, Manchester United, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, FA Cup
