Zlatan Ibrahimovic was brilliant again, Paul Pogba was imperious in midfield and Henrikh Mkhitaryan showed why Manchester United spent all that money on him with a goal of the season contender as Jose Mourinho's men strolled to their fourth consecutive Premier League win. The Boxing Day match did not go according to plan for David Moyes, with Ibrahimovic's all-round ability just proving to be too much for Sunderland.
For 38 minutes, it looked like Sunderland might be able to fashion something out of this game and allow Moyes to leave Old Trafford with a smile, but once Daley Blind struck the ball into the bottom corner, it was just a matter of how many more Manchester United would score.
That feeling only grew when United upped the ante in the second half, with Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan, with a delicious backheel, netting goals in the second half to complete a thoroughly deserving 3-1 win – Fabio Borini scoring a late goal for Sunderland, a fantastic strike from distance, once the result was beyond doubt.
"I liked the second half," Mourinho told MUTV. "I didn't like the first half. It was 1-0 at halftime. In spite of that, I don't think we deserved to be winning 1-0. They were organised well, this team came here to close and try to be dangerous on the counter-attack, with the long ball to [Victor] Anichebe to hold, and they did well.
"I did like the second half, we brought to the game the way we have been playing in the past couple of months, playing really well with intensity, creativity and we were dynamic. I like the second half very much as we could have scored five or six. It's three points, 12 points from four matches. We've played well for a long time but points are what we need now."
The three points mean Manchester United are now level on points with fifth-placed Tottenham, who have played a game less, and only four off the top-four. With Ibrahimovic, who also had two assists in the game, finding form at the right time, Manchester United look a force to be reckoned with again.
"He should score more," Mourinho said with a smile. "Independent of the goals, his work is amazing. I saw him making runs against young guys, but he was faster and stronger than them. Great."
