ZLATAN Ibrahimovic has never been one to shy away from the limelight. So it was rather fitting that the superstar Swede took just three minutes to open his Manchester United account yesterday - with an overhead kick.
The striker, who recently joined Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford on a free transfer from PSG, has dominated the headlines this summer, starting with the speculative links to the Theatre of Dreams, then moving to Ibrahimovic announcing his move on social media, and more recently for his decision to oust promising youngster Antony Martial from the famous number nine shirt, a decision that, reportedly, was not well received by the France international.
The latest chapter in the 'Zlatan Chronicles' contained a somewhat spectacular overhead kick against Galatasaray in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Despite not making clean contact with Antonio Valencia's cross, Ibrahimovic's audacious attempt still found it's way into the goal.
But Man United fans were soon brought back down to earth after the dream start to Zlatan's spell in red.
Galatasaray dominated the rest of the first half, cutting Man United open a number of times, and managed to find the net twice through Sinan Gumus and Bruma before the break.
Having surrendered the early lead, United looked glad to see the half-time whistle, perhaps being slightly fortunate to only be trailing by one.
However, new manager Jose Mourinho clearly had some choice words for the squad during the interval, with United returning to the pitch with added impetuous and desire.
The addition of Marcus Rashford and Michael Carrick changed the dynamic of the game, with their respective pace and passing causing Galatasaray significant problems at the back.
With United probing from the restart, it took only ten minutes for them to equalise, and a further three minutes to take the lead, with Wayne Rooney on target for both.
The United captain showed his goal scoring instinct with a deft touch on a whipped cross, again from Valencia, to open his pre-season account, before hammering home from the penalty spot after a charging run from Rashford saw him easily pull away from his marker before being brought down by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
Rashford's run even impressed new man Zlatan, who was subbed at half-time.
With the momentum now firmly in United's favour, the FA Cup champions continued to create chances, most notably from crosses from the right wing.
Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, both of whom have faced recent speculation over their role at United under Mourinho, were on hand to turn in crosses from the right to extend the lead to 5-2.
Despite ending as comfortable winners, warning signs still remain for a new look United team who have struggled to stamp their authority on games from the outset, putting in a number of sub-par first-half performances during pre-season.
After the match, Ibrahimovic grabbed the headlines, again, by bringing up Paul Pogba's much talked about potential move to Manchester.
Speaking with Swedish television station Kanal 5, Ibrahimovic said: "It looks very interesting,... Let's see if Pogba will also [come], then it will be even more interesting... We have something big going on."
