Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said until Manchester United win a trophy, their progress under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “doesn’t matter”.
After missing the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, the former Red Devils striker came off the bench during Thursday night’s second-leg at the San Siro.
However, he was unable to have a decisive impact on the tie, with Paul Pogba’s goal giving United a 2-1 win on aggregate.
The Swede spent almost two seasons with United, playing under Solskjaer’s predecessor Jose Mourinho.
During his stint in English football, Ibrahimovic won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield.
And speaking after the European clash, the 39-year-old admitted that while this United team ‘looks’ better, until that translates to winning silverware, it is irrelevant.
Asked how this team compares to the one he played in, he said: “I think it’s better, it looks better, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t win nothing. I think it was better than mine, but I won trophies, that’s the big difference.”
On the game itself, Ibrahimovic sent a thinly veiled dig at his Rossoneri teammates for their failure to take any of their chances during the second leg defeat.
“I think in two games we did well, we played two good games and we created good chances today, we could and should have scored. Then we make one mistake and we get a goal against us,” he explained.
“This is football, you don’t score goals, you can play as good as you want – if you don’t score goals, you don’t go to the next round.
“I missed the first game, today I come in for 30 minutes. I had a lot of will to come in, but I think the team did well.”
Qualification over the Italian giants means Solskjaer has now reached eight quarter finals since replacing Mourinho, but is yet to reach a single final.
United face Leicester City in the FA Cup next and while he is keen to end his trophy duck, the Norwegian claimed that winning silverware could be an ‘ego thing’ for managers.
Solskjaer explained: “I felt a big rebuild had to be made. The league is always the bread and butter and that’s when you see how capable you are.
“The cups are sometimes an ego thing for managers and clubs. It’s not like a trophy will say ‘we are back’, no. It’s gradual progression at the top of the league. Sometimes the cup competitions can hide your progress a bit.
“It’s in the league positions that you see whether you’re progressing, really. The cups you can be lucky or unlucky. Of course we’re aiming to win, that’s why you play football. ”
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