Bournemouth 1-3 Man U

THERE are so many narratives surrounding Manchester United and Jose Mourinho this season and yesterday’s 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth will have given him more questions about the biggest one — where does Wayne Rooney fit in the team?

Rooney scored the team’s second 15 minutes after the interval after Juan Mata, who was controversially subbed on and off in the 2-1 victory over Leicester in the Community Shield, opened the scoring five minutes before the break.

With the arrival of world-record signing Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who capped his league debut with a goal, those guessing United’s best 11 often have Rooney on the bench.

Pogba works best on the left of a midfield three and with the former Barcelona and PSG striker operating best without a player behind him, which allows him to drop deep to pick up the ball, England’s record goalscorer may find himself watching matches next to his new boss.

But the goal at Dean Court will have done his chances no harm, neither will his link-up play with Ibrahimovic.

Rooney addressed the speculation around his future in the team, telling doubters that he has nothing to prove to keep his place in the starting XI and backed himself to keep scoring.

He said: “I keep doing it [scoring goals]. I have nothing to prove. I’ve played this game a long time and believe in my ability. If I play the way I did today I will score goals.”

For Mourinho, this was his first league game since he was sacked from Chelsea last December.

Asked if he was nervous and slept OK Saturday night, he said: “I slept fine. In the hotel was a boxing fight on the second floor. I wanted to go but there were too many people.”

He got his wish 24 hours later as his heavyweight side kept Bournemouth at bay with light jabs for the majority of the game. It took 69 minutes for the home side to register a shot at goal, Adam Smith beating David de Gea to grab a consolation and give his side a chance to salvage something from the match.

However, they were rocked by Rooney and Ibrahimovic’s quick one-two 10 minutes earlier which left them down for the count.