Manchester United have kicked off life under Jose Mourinho in the Premier League with a well-earned 3-1 victory against Bournemouth at Dean Court.
The Red Devils struggled to get going in a flat first half, but they did take the lead through Juan Mata prior to the interval and quickly pushed on after the restart.
United were also boosted by the performance of summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top, as he scored one and put in a solid all-round shift on his first outing in English football.
It may only have been half a chance for Bournemouth, but Callum Wilson's near miss three minutes in when latching on to a loose ball inside the box was the closest they came to a first-half breakthrough.
United were struggling to get Ibrahimovic into the game early on at the other end of the field, with the ex-Sweden international - one of five debutants on the pitch at Dean Court for both sides - seeing his frustrations compounded following a clash of heads with Simon Francis.
The Red Devils' best spell in the opening 45 minutes came midway through when testing Artur Boruc for the first time, but Wayne Rooney perhaps should have done better when picked out by Mata inside the box following some impressive work by Antonio Valencia on his 250th appearance for the club.
That came a few moments after Anthony Martial had cut inside from his starting position out on the left to send a shot a few yards wide of the target, as the visitors began to grow more into the contest.
Just when the half appeared to be coming to a disappointing end, Mata capitalised on a weak Francis back-pass to race in behind and test Boruc for just a second time, but the Polish stopper did well to keep the initial attempt out.
However, an unfortunate deflection saw the ball come back off the shin of Francis and into the path of Mata - in for the absent Jesse Lingard today - who poked home the opening goal of the Mourinho reign.
While there was little between the sides in a tight first half, United were by far the better team in the second period right from the off as Rooney got the better of Steve Cook to test Boruc from 15 yards out.
The Englishman came out second best on that occasion but, just a few minutes after having a weak penalty appeal turned down, he did get his seemingly annual opening-day goal - number seven of his career to date - when smartly heading home a miscued Martial shot from close range.
Ibrahimovic was not going to let the big day pass him by, though, and he popped up with a strike from 25 yards out which lacked power but not precision as it trickled past Boruc into the bottom corner, ensuring a debut goal in the Premier League much like he achieved in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
With the visitors seemingly cruising to three points, Adam Smith gave his side a lifeline of sorts when firing into the top corner of the net after being played through by substitute Lewis Grabban 20 minutes from time.
United, who had never previously won at Bournemouth in a league fixture, had little to do for the remainder of the contest bar a late flurry for the hosts, as they saw things through to make it a winning start under their new boss.
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