Tuesday 27 December 2016 15:45, UK
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has labelled his strike for Manchester United against Sunderland as the best goal of his career.
The Armenia international scored for the third successive match in United's 3-1 victory over David Moyes' struggling side, having opened his account for the club earlier this month with a stunning solo goal at Zorya Luhansk.
Mkhitaryan, who grabbed his first Premier League goal in the 1-0 win over Tottenham three days after that success in the Europa League, met a cross from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the closing minutes and connected with a 'scorpion' kick to seal victory over the Black Cats.
Following the win at Old Trafford, United manager Jose Mourinho called the goal "phenomenal" and Mkhitaryan freely admits it was the greatest of his career to date.
"That was the best goal I've ever scored," he told MUTV. "I was very excited.
"The first thing I did was look at the assistant and I saw it was not ruled as offside so I just started to celebrate.
"I was expecting the ball to be in front of me and then I realised I was in front of it.
"As the ball was behind me, the only thing I could do was a backheel so I did that and I succeeded."
Daley Blind's low strike put United in front before half-time, with Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan scoring late on before a superb consolation goal from Fabio Borini.
It was United's fourth straight Premier League win and Mkhitaryan wants to extend that run in the New Year's Eve clash with Middlesbrough, which the attacking midfielder may well start after overcoming an ankle complaint.
"I don't have anything of concern from a past injury so I'm happy to be back to help the team," he said.
"I will try to do my best for the next game. It's very important that we're in good shape and to keep going like this."
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