Liverpool draw leaves Man Utd with no margin for error – Zlatan

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Takes centre stage

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Takes centre stage

Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits Manchester United will have to rely on others to slip up in the title race if they’re to claim glory this season.

Jose Mourinho has overcome a bumpy start to life in the Old Trafford hotseat to take United on an impressive unbeaten run in all competitions, which extended to a 16th match on Sunday thanks to Ibrahimovic’s late header in a pulsating 1-1 draw with bitter rivals Liverpool.

It did, though, bring an end to a six-game game winning run in the Premier League, leaving them sixth in the standings – 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Frustrating results at home have hampered their title chances this term and Ibrahimovic knows they can ill-afford any more mistakes, but the striker believes United are well placed to push until the end.

“Of course (there is little margin for error now),” he said. “Imagine if we’d got those points (dropped early in season), where we’d be now? It’d be a big difference. But, okay, we’re paying for it.

“We had a gap where there was a distance to the top five but now we’re closer. From second to us is five points, Chelsea is 12. We are there, we just wait for the other ones to do mistakes.

“If we could have won against Liverpool it’d have been a fantastic result but we take the draw and let’s see what the other teams do.

“Hopefully they make mistakes and have their own dip because we had our dips. We just need to win and keep going like we’re doing. We’ve got great confidence.”

There remains a building momentum around Old Trafford despite Sunday’s draw, thanks in no small part to Ibrahimovic making a mockery of those questioning whether at 35 he could handle the rigours of Premier League football.

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The Swede has plundered 14 goals in 20 top-flight matches but would swap that record for collective success as “it’s all about winning”, meaning the Golden Boot is a secondary thought.

“I think the pressure I have all around me is nothing compared to the pressure I put on myself,” Ibrahimovic said.

“I really want to do not perfect, more than perfect, every game, even in training. I’m not happy if I don’t win in training so imagine what it’s like in the games.

“That is the pressure I put on myself and so your pressure becomes like a kindergarten for me.

“My pressure is really high. I’m not satisfied until I get what I want. What I want is to win.”