United's £26m summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan was
impressive on only his second start for the club. Mourinho has said the former
Borussia Dortmund midfielder, who had previously managed only 134 minutes for
United, needs time to adapt to the "intensity and aggression" of the
English game.
Admittedly against weaker opposition, he looked the
part with an all-action performance playing centrally behind Ibrahimovic. He
linked up well with team-mates, and would have got on the end of a through ball
from Rooney had the England captain not overhit it, after a slick one-touch
passing move between the pair. One of the game's outstanding moments came when
Mkhitaryan ran from his own half, taking on several Feyenoord defenders, before
going down under pressure from Jens Toornstra. The Dutch champions were
fortunate the referee did not give a free-kick, which would also have resulted
in a red card.
The 27-year-old had six shots, including blocked
efforts, and came off, alongside Rooney, to a standing ovation after 82
minutes. "It was a pleasure to play again. It's been very difficult
watching the team from the side but you have to have passion and work hard to
try and take your next chance," he said. When asked if it was a new start,
he said: "I hope so." The big question now is will the Armenian start
against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday?
Rooney, recalled in one of six changes from
Saturday's 1-1 draw with Arsenal, had said he was "not finished yet"
after criticism of his late night at a wedding on international duty. He showed
that with a goal to move within one of matching Sir Bobby Charlton's
club-record 249 goals, as well as beating Ruud van Nistelrooy's European
record. He was economical with his shooting his only effort the goal, a calm finish over
the keeper after timing his run well. But he had a big hand in United's second
goal too, his reverse pass for Mata taking the Feyenoord defence out of the
equation and giving the Spaniard an easy finish. The win was secured when
former Liverpool keeper Jones deflected Ibrahimovic's cross into his own net,
and Jesse Lingard curled in a fourth in injury time to make it Jose Mourinho's
biggest win as United boss. A draw or win at Zorya Luhansk in the final Group A
game on Thursday, 8 December would take United into the last 32.
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