Manchester United started Premier League life under Jose Mourinho with a win at Bournemouth in their opening match.
The Red Devils sealed a 3-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium. Juan Mata got the Mourinho era off the mark with the opener, followed by goals from skipper Wayne Rooney, and a Premier League debut goal for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
After the match Zlatan and Rooney fronted up for the Sky Sports cameras to talk about the match.
After the conclusion of the traditional banalities about the win being the most important thing etc etc and so on and so forth, the Sky reporter went to present the new – and less than well received – Premier League Man of the Match award yellow brick thing.
He hands it over with the words: “Man of the match was Eric Bailly. It’s heavy – one of you guys ok to take it in for him?”
Cue an uncomfortable silence as Zlatan takes hold of it and studies it with a sort of baffled, uncomprehending look – presumably as he tries to work out what the hell it’s supposed to be – and says nothing.
Eventually he realises what’s going on and says “Oh, I thought it was [for] Wayne!”
https://twitter.com/KevBeirne/status/764833632322215936
As he walks out of shot you can just hear him make his feelings perfectly clear about the whole concept of the Man of the Match award.
“It’s a team victory,” he says – perhaps angered by the weird yellow thing he was forced to lug back into the dressing room.
Here is a closer look at the new gong:
https://twitter.com/ThePLZone/status/764419248928264192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ibrahimovic is not alone in his lack of enthusiasm for the new award. The Twitterati were typically merciless and it didn’t take long for footy fans to pass judgement on the new design.
Some compared it to a bottle of aftershave…
New man of the match trophy looks like a bottle of aftershave in its packaging pic.twitter.com/lKBivlWklv
— Dan (@danjoness_) August 13, 2016
Others saw an animated sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea…
https://twitter.com/ffsYanited/status/764436328255787008
It was also compared with a highlighter pen…
https://twitter.com/jottimus/status/764431456533942274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ffsYanited/status/764436328255787008
A ‘Caution – wet floor’ cone…
Loooool @ThePLZone pic.twitter.com/FVpFBX7ISd
— Football HQ (@FootbalIHQ) August 13, 2016
And something you might have made in DT at school…
wtf is that. Looks like something you make in GCSE woodwork.
— David Marriott (@DavidPMarriott) August 13, 2016
