Zlatan Ibrahimovic Says Europa League Schedule Is 'Killing' Him After Zorya Win

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said playing in the Europa League is "killing" him.

The Swede was part of the United side that won 2-0 against FC Zorya Luhansk in Ukraine on Thursday, a result that ensured they progressed to the knockout stages of the competition.

But per the Sun (h/t Tom Doyle of the London Evening Standard), the 35-year-old striker said the schedule hasn't sat well with him: "We don't have a lot of rest. These Thursdays are killing us, especially me. Now we have one day less to recover before we face Spurs."

Ibrahimovic will likely be glad of the break that takes place in the European schedule. While the draw for the last 32 of the Europa League takes place on Monday, the first-leg matches do not come around until mid-February 2017.

Dave Thompson/Associated Press

Ibrahimovic's comments could come as a boost to Sunday's Premier League opponents Tottenham Hotspur, who will also enter the Europa League round of 32 after dropping out of the Champions League after finishing third in their group.

While the nature of qualifying for European competitions means a regular diet of midweek matches, the Thursday-Sunday routine involved has frustrated many top club managers.

One of those was Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who, in similar terms expressed by Ibrahimovic, previously stated his disapproval of the Europa League, per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph.

"I think it is a competition that kills you in the sense that there are a lot of mid-table teams that put a lot of effort into the Europa League and then are not able to do anything in the league, they are not able to compensate for that bad run of form in the league so it brings them down," Pochettino said.

Alongside making it through to the next round, the match against Zorya was notable for Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first goal as a Manchester United player.

The style in which the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder took his chance impressed team-mate Ibrahimovic, who praised Mkhitaryan in a video on the club's official Twitter feed:

The pair linked up to good effect in Ukraine, and Mkhitaryan is appearing to look more settled at United, which should in turn provide more goalscoring chances for Ibrahimovic.

Taking chances has been a problem for manager Jose Mourinho's side, and the Portuguese will be hoping the duo can make a similar impact in attack when United host Spurs at Old Trafford at the weekend.