Jose Mourinho has hailed Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his brace helped Manchester United to a 2-0 win at West Brom and says the former Sweden international has nothing to prove.

Ibrahimovic needed only five minutes to break the deadlock at the Hawthornes as he got his head to a superb ball from Jesse Lingard, making it 1-0.




His second goal came in the 56th minute and killed off West Brom's hopes of a comeback. Ibrahimovic was fed by captain Wayne Rooney and worked his way into the pehnalty area, then hitting a right-footed shot which went in off West Brom defender Craig Dawson.

Manchester United enjoyed 57 per cent possession in the encounter and registered five shots on target to West Brom's one as they emerged worthy winners.
 


And Mourinho had warm words for Ibrahimovic after the final whistle, dubbing the 35-year-old a "superman".

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The Portuguese boss told the BBC: "I'm so pleased for him.

"He is the kind of player who doesn't need to prove anything to anyone but when he decided to come to England for the last period of his career, to the most difficult championship in the world, I think he proved he is a superman in his mentality.

"What he is doing at 35 is a dream for every striker of 25 in the Premier League.

"I need to give him a rest.

"Now we have a little rest for the first time. It is not just him but everybody", Mourinho added.

Manchester United have moved up to level on points with Tottenham Hotspur (30 points) following their win at the Hawthornes and are just three points off fourth placed Manchester City; Tottenham and Manchester City both have a game in hand however.