Jose Mourinho insists Zlatan Ibrahimovic won Manchester United the EFL Cup, after the Red Devils edged out Southampton 3-2 at Wembley to lift the season's first major piece of silverware.
Ibrahimovic gave Manchester United the lead in the game after just 19 minutes, when he hit a superb free-kick into the back of the net, while when Jesse Lingard made it 2-0 in the 38th minute with a crisp finish, Southampton looked in all kinds of trouble.
But the Saints gave themselves hope when Manolo Gabbiadini pulled one back in first half stoppage time.
And when the Italian levelled the match within just three minutes of the start of the second half, it was game on at Wembley.
It was end to end stuff as both sides looked to come up with a winner and Southampton went close through Oriol Romeu, who hit the woodwork.
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As the clock ticked down it seemed the match might head to extra time, but in the 87th minute Ander Herrera found Ibrahimovic with a cross and he made no mistake to score the winner.
Ibrahimovic's brace took his tally for the season to a whopping 26 goals and Mourinho is in no doubt the Swede handed Manchester United the cup.
"Honestly, Ibrahimovic won the game for us because he was outstanding. I can see a couple of performances – [Paul] Pogba similar level – but he was outstanding", Mourinho said on Sky Sports.
"In a match where the opponent was better than us for long periods – they deserved to go to extra time – he made the difference and he gave us the cup."
And Mourinho also admitted the cup win has made him emotional, due to the pressure he places on himself to keep collecting trophies.
"I'm a bit emotional yes. It's not easy to win titles and so many times. It's not easy to cope with the pressure I put myself under.
"It was a game I was feeling the difficulty. I want to pay homage to Southampton and what they deserve.
"We have the cup in our hands and probably should be in extra time.
"Winning is always special. The day I don't get emotional when I win is the day to go home."
