The Swedish striker stole the show at Old Trafford with goals in both halves as Mourinho's United eased past Southampton
Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed the limelight as Paul Pogba made his long-awaited Manchester United return.
The Swedish striker scored twice for Jose Mourinho's men as they eased past Southampton at a buoyant Old Trafford.
Pogba was making his second United debut following his £89m move from Juventus...
But it was Ibrahimovic who stole the show, first heading home Wayne Rooney's cross before slotting home from the penalty spot.
Here are five things we learned.
1) Zlatan is perfect for United
Throughout his career Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been a ludicrously talented but curiously flawed player.
For all his league titles, and for all the European giants he has played for this is a footballer who is yet to win a Champions League.
There are many theories to explain away this absence of fortune in continental competition but by far the most convincing is that Ibrahimovic is somewhat of a flat-track bully.
And while it would be easy to take that as a slight, the reality is that it is a compliment to a player who has scored hundreds of goals to actively propel his team to titles.
A knock on United since Alex Ferguson's departure (and there have been many, in truth) is that they have failed to beat the smaller sides but Ibrahimovic has made a career out of being decisive in these sort of games.
The Swede is the perfect player to win league titles because he will punish teams week in, week out and he has exhibited This trait in his first few weeks as a Man United player.
Bournemouth away and Southampton at home are precisely the sort of fixtures that trip up leading sides. Winning these can be the difference between being a title contender and a title winner.
Two goals from Ibrahimovic tonight hands United three more points. Six from six. Two wins from two.
He won't win that elusive Champions League title this season with United and it's entirely possible he will never win it at all.
But if United are to win the Premier League again then they may just have found the perfect centre-forward to lead their charge.
2) Mourinho ready to adapt
Jose Mourinho signalled his intention to appease Manchester United fans by selecting Paul Pogba as one of the two holding midfielders in his 4-2-3-1.
Pogba performs best in a three but Mourinho is ready to shed the negative perception surrounding his tactics with Pogba in the two and Wayne Rooney again tucked in behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
With Anthony Martial coming in from the left and Juan Mata playing off the right, Mourinho has given Pogba an array of options to pick out ahead of him - most of whom will be able to hold the ball and find the French superstar if he pushes beyond them.
Pogba was given license to bring out expansive passes and regularly searched for Zlatan Ibrahimovic over the top.
But in this system, he will have to do plenty of work going the other way with neither he or Marouane Fellaini defensive midfielders.
3) Full-backs impress
United were always going to be stronger ith Luke Shaw in their side.
The full-back has returned from his double leg break and seems intent on making up for lost time.
Against his former club, he was impressive both defensively and going forward, and won the penalty for United's second.
On the other flank, Antonio Valencia has also started the campaign well.
You'd have thought the Ecuadorian's defensive capabilities (or lack of) would mean he'd be down the pecking order of Mourinho's options.
His teams are usually hard to beat with his full-backs putting their defensive responsibilities before anything else.
So far though, he is placing his faith in Valencia, who hasn't put a foot wrong.
4) Fonte caught out on United audition
Tonight was always going to be a big night for Jose Fonte.
Having been binned by Benfica, Fonte has risen to the top the hard way, via Crystal Palace and then dropping to League One.
As he will tell you himself, being on the Southampton journey from the third tier all the way up has made him appreciate how fortunate he is and this summer saw a crowning career moment, winning the European Championship.
Now Manchester United are on his trail and heading into the Theatre of Dreams, Fonte had a chance to impress and possibly seal his move.
Criticisms of the Portuguese centre-back have always centred around his defensive capabilities. On the ball he is extremely good, and the obvious conclusion from Mourinho's interest in his compatriot is that he wants a central defender who is good on the ball to allow Daley Blind to return to midfield.
And while those supposed defensive issues didn't blight Fonte for much of this evening, he will have been unhappy with the way Zlatan Ibrahimovic towered over him to head home the opening goal.
Caught under the flight of Wayne Rooney'a cross, Fonte was rooted and his body position was wrong as the Swede was allowed to nod back across Fraser Forster and into the bottom corner.
5) Old Trafford alive and kicking
Manchester United have their mojo back and with it, so have the crowd.
Old Trafford was rocking on the official opening night of the Jose Mourinho era.
While ultimately it was the arrival of Paul Pogba that ignited the spark, it was the raft of other changes that returned the Theatre of Dreams its famed atmosphere of yesteryear.
There was an optimism in the United fans; a sense that they could actually challenge for the Premier League title.
Over the past three years, a home match against Southampton would have been considered a banana skin - but it was anything but that on Friday evening.
It was a procession... a party if you like. United are back in business.
Player ratings
Man United: De Gea 6, Valencia 7, Bailly 7, Blind 7, Shaw 7, Fellaini 7, Pogba 7, Mata 7 (Mkhitaryan 75), Rooney 7 (Smalling 88), Martial 7 (Herrera 81), Ibrahimovic 9 MOTM.
Southampton: Forster 6, Cedric 5, Van Dijk 7, Fonte 6, Targett 6, Romeu 4 (Clasie 11, 5), Davis 6 (Austin 66, 6), Redmond 6, Hojbjerg 6, Tadic 5, Long 5 (Rodriguez 83).
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