Man Of The Moment, Jose Mourinho Praises Henrikh Mkhitaryan

 

Jose Mourinho heaped praise on Henrikh Mkhitaryan after he scored his first Manchester United goal against Zorya Luhansk on Thursday. So outstanding for Borussia Dortmund over recent years, the 27years old's initial struggles to make Mourinho's match-day squad, never mind the starting line-up, puzzled onlookers.

Mourinho explained that Mkhitaryan was still getting used to the rigours of English football, but his frustration at the player was clear when saying last month that the Armenian had to do more. The attacking midfielder appears to have heeded that advice, appearing in a fifth successive United match and scoring a fine solo goal to open the scoring in the Europa League clash at Zorya Luhansk. Mkhitaryan's goal early in the first half was complemented by a late Zlatan Ibrahimovic strike in Ukraine, wrapping up a 2-0 win that saw Mourinho's men progress from Group A as runners-up.

Mourinho said “He has a strong mentality, he was very determined to fight against his difficult adaptation, and he's doing that in the best way. He worked really hard physically, tactically and the talent we know is there. The talent we knew what we were buying. He fought to improve tactically, he fought to improve physically, and now he is playing good in the Premier League, good in the Europa League and the EFL Cup, and now evolving a bit more happiness for him, so I'm very pleased.”