Odion Ighalo entered Manchester United’s record books on Saturday and was the second player in club history after scoring a 2-1 win over Norwich to score every first four of his competitions.
The Nigerian striker has been a huge success since being loaned out by the Chinese team Shanghai Shenhua in January. He scored five goals and scored one template in all competitions.
He was particularly impressive in the cup competitions, and his goals in his four starts against Club Brugge, Derby, LASK and Norwich, according to Opta, set him the record Jimmy Hanson set in 1925.
(Image: Marc Aspland NMCPool)
This means Ighalo could break the record against Brighton in the next game he starts on Tuesday even though he hasn’t yet scored a goal in the Premier League.
Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the first three starts against Leicester, Bournemouth and Southampton in the 2016/17 season, but then failed to score in the 1-0 win over Hull.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was visibly delighted with Ighalo’s goal against Norwich, which set them on the way to a late win in extra time.
After the game, he said: “He’s a proven scorer and has done his part for both goals. He’s a great person to have in the locker room.”
(Image: Getty Images)
“Odion knows how much we appreciate him in and around the locker room. He is a goal scorer, a poacher, he is strong, we can play the ball into him, he showed for the second and Paul [Pogba] found him. “
United will discover their opponents for the semi-finals of the competition on Sunday evening and will undoubtedly appreciate the chances of winning the first silver medal under Solskjaer, considering the good shape of the last time.
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