Mkhitaryan praised by Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has praised Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the way in which he has improved physically and mentally after a difficult start to his Manchester United career.

Mkhitaryan endured a tricky few months at Old Trafford as he struggled to break into the first team and there were fears for his future when he was withdrawn at half-time on his first start in the Manchester derby.

He did not feature again in the Premier League until late November but he has since made five successive appearances for the club and opened his account for United with a superb goal against Zorya Luhansk on Thursday evening.

"He has a strong mentality. He was very determined to fight against his difficult adaptation, and he's doing that in the best way," Mourinho said.

"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."

Mkhitaryan's fine solo effort saw him charge form the centre circle before beating Rafael Forster, a goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic later described as 'beautiful'.

"The first goal was magnificent. Henrikh had speed and control all the way, and the timing to put it through the defender's legs… it was beautiful," Ibrahimovic told MUTV.

"He killed the game off by scoring the goal and did a great job tonight.

"I'm very happy for him because he's a quality player and I hope he continues; I know he will. I'm super happy for him."

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