Jose Mourinho praised Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the striker scored a brace against West Brom.

Manchester United and their star striker have both been in prime form. The club has won four matches in a row and moved into a tie for fifth place in the English Premier League with Tottenham, who has 30 points on the season. The striker has scored three goals in the last two matches. Mourinho hailed Ibrahimovic as an integral part of his team sheet.

“[Zlatan] is doing amazingly well, even in the period when he was not scoring goals,” said Mourinho. “He is important to us for many more reasons than the goals but in the last two matches he has scored three goals and got us six points in two away matches which is very important. I was expecting him to have the impact he has had this season because I knew the reasons he was coming here. He was not coming for the money or the prestige, he was just coming to enjoy his football and to play in the best league in the world.”

Ibrahimovic is now 35 years of age and in the final phases of his career. He has not slowed, however, having scored 16 goals on the season. Mourinho is accustomed to coaching older players who do not take their position at a major club for granted.

“I was very lucky in my career because I had a lot of players with enthusiasm and players in the last phase of their career, 35, 36, 37 and they were still magnificent in their attitude,” said Mourinho.