The mighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived! The towering centre-forward absolutely dominated Wes Morgan, no small man himself, and headed the ball past Kasper Schmeichel in the 83rd minute at Wembley, to seal victory for Manchester United in his first match and win the Community Shield.

Against the champions Leicester, United painted a happy picture for their fans after the struggles of last season. Gone was the fear of dull, insipid, boring play that made me want to gouge my eyes out over the last three seasons, both under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal.

Fellaini: a cause for concern

The groans of the United supporters were audible when the line-up was announced as Marouane Fellaini, a physical manifestation of the ennui associated with the team previously, was on the pitch for the opening game of the season.

One hoped that as the man cheekily referred to in some fan quarters as the "Tree" for his low mobility on the pitch took his place in the heart of the midfield, alongside a 35-year old Michael Carrick, that there would be visible signs of change in the gameplay.

The Wayne Rooney conundrum seems to have a temporary answer as the captain was named and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, expected by many to start, was on the bench. Nonetheless, it was a formidable front four of Zlatan, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Rooney that inspired confidence from the word go.

It was also my fear that Mourinho, known for ostracising youngsters, wouldn’t rely on youth. The omission of Marcus Rashford from the starting line-up certainly didn’t do anything to change that viewpoint. But it would have taken a brave man to drop Rooney and start Rashford in his place.

United started brightly but were soon caught in a midfield battle with Leicester as the champions looked to assert themselves. Just ask any fan whose side is facing Leicester – the sight of Jamie Vardy running full steam at a defender is ominous.

Shaw returns after lengthy injury lay-off

The biggest causes of joy were the fullbacks, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia. Last year, my heart went out to Shaw as the dynamic young left-back had suffered a horrific fracture just when it looked like he was starting to break out.

It has kept him out for a year, and it’s never a good sight to see a promising career almost being ended by a nasty tackle. The sight of a fully fit Shaw romping up and down the flanks brought a smile on United fans' faces. Shaw’s shackling of the dangerous Riyad Mahrez, last season’s Player of the Year, was also impressive.

On the other flank, Valencia, whose regression has been painful to watch over the years, finally showed some of that old dynamism as it was he who burst past Demarai Gray to float a ball into the box for Zlatan to score.

But the biggest surprise of the day was Lingard, racing past three defenders and rolling the ball past Schmeichel to remind his manager that youth, in fact, can be trusted. Last season, Lingard scored the final goal of LVG’s era to win the FA Cup, and he scored the first of Mourinho’s reign. If he can keep this up, he will be a fan favourite, if he isn't already.

Low mobility in midfield

New signing Eric Bailly was also tidy in his first appearance as was his partner, Daley Blind. There have been rumours circulating that Blind would be one of the players to leave United. But Blind in his two seasons has convinced the Old Trafford faithful that he is a useful ball player and thus it would be sad to see him leave.

The cause of concern, of course, was Fellaini. The Belgian’s unnecessary give-away of the ball led to Jamie Vardy finding himself in a one-on-one situation with David De Gea. Vardy went past the keeper far too comfortably to level the scores for Leicester.

Old problems resurfaced in the midfield. There was not enough movement or closing down from either Carrick or Fellaini.

The biggest news of the night was that the fix for all those midfield problems may be on its way. Before the match, it was announced that one of the world’s best midfield players, Paul Pogba, “Pogboom” was making his way to Manchester to have a medical.

But the night belonged to Zlatan and Mourinho. The early signs were promising but United fans will tread the path of optimism with caution. For tonight, the fans will rejoice. There is finally some light at the end of the tunnel.

Manchester United 2 (Lingard 32’, Ibrahimovic 83’) - Leicester City 1 (Vardy 52’)