Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a fantastic goal to give Manchester United the lead in their Premier League game against Everton, but along with that moment of brilliance, there was also an unsavoury moment when the Swede got tangled up with Seamus Coleman.
With Manchester United leading 1-0, early in the second half, Ibrahimovic, trying to put the pressure on the right-back Coleman, ended up bringing the defender down, with the striker then losing his balance and falling on top of his opponent. Before getting back up, though, Ibrahimovic seemed to catch Coleman on the head with his foot, and while it was impossible to say if it was deliberate or not, the former PSG man insisted there was no malice intended.
"They played hard," Ibrahimovic told MUTV. "And I heard one of the commentators say I kicked someone in the head on purpose. It was a 50/50 duel. He pulled me down and I tried to avoid touching him."
Ibrahimovic scored the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with a delightful chip over the goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who has unnecessarily come out of his line, giving the Manchester United striker the opening he needed, with goalline technology coming into play to confirm the goal after the ball initially hit the crossbar and the post, before just crossing the line.
"I went for the run in the space and got a fantastic ball from (Anthony) Martial," Ibrahimovic said describing the goal. "I saw the goalkeeper come out and I just tried to time it good and went to touch the ball. It hit the post, hit the bar and in the end it went in.
"I scored but in the end it only got me and the team one point. I would prefer not to score but win the game, that's my way of thinking. We have to fight more and do more to get the three points we need."
Manchester United gave away a late equaliser, scored by Leighton Baines from the penalty spot, after Marouane Fellaini conceded the spotkick, but the manager Jose Mourinho will be glad to see that Ibrahimovic is now back scoring goals consistently, after going through a lean patch recently.
"He's playing like the team is playing," Mourinho said. "The team is playing very, very well and the players are playing well."
The results, however, are not well and that is something Manchester United need to change quickly, if they are to finish in the top four, at least, this season.
