In the 26th round of the Premier League, Manchester United won 4-2 away from home, Z united completed a double kill against the sworn enemy, Bruno Fernandez passed a success, two legs against this opponent to score 5 goals. Compared with him, Paul Pogba, another core player in Manchester United's midfield in the first leg, although he also had a good performance, was still somewhat eclipsed. Pogba was replaced first when Lonnick made adjustments in the second half, and the next time he was joined by Jesse Lingard, who was almost invisible in the game.
After the last international break, Pogba made a comeback from injury and quickly returned to United's starting line-up, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 starts in the previous 3 Premier League rounds, and his attack and creativity in the midfield were still impressive. This round of opponents Leeds United once left Pogba with good memories, in the first round of this season's Premier League, he staged an assist to lead Manchester United to a 5-1 sweep. This time they meet again, and Pogba naturally hopes to continue his good luck.
Pogba partnered McTominay at the back, but he inserted attacks a lot during the game, and Manchester United's first threatening shot came from Pogba when he inserted a low shot from the right side of the box and caused Leeds goalkeeper Melier to save the ball. In the 26th minute, Pogba completed a wonderful pass on the left and crossed the goal, and C Ronaldo's push that was close at hand was deflected by Mélier's struggle to fall to the ground. In the 32nd minute, Pogba flashed under the opponent's multi-person bag to send out a pass, and B Fei's powerful long-range shot was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
In the first half, United led 2-0 with goals from Maguire and B Fee, and Pogba was very active. However, running back and forth from the back to the front of the goal also made the French midfielder consume a lot of physical strength. Leeds United scored 2 goals in the second half of the second half and scored 2 goals to tie the score, which actually had a lot to do with United's weak defensive interception in midfield. So Lonnick began to switch sides 13 minutes after the equaliser at Leeds United, with Pogba and Jesse Lingard being replaced by Fred and Erlanga respectively. Jesse Lingard went off because he really didn't have a presence on the field, while Pogba could only explain it by lack of physical fitness.
It is worth mentioning that Fred replaced Pogba with a burst shot just 3 minutes after helping United lead again. And Erlanga repaid Lonnick's trust with a goal. This would be a bit of an embarrassment to Pogba. In this campaign, he shot 2 shots and 1 positive in 67 minutes, 2 key passes, and delivered a game-high 5 successful breakthroughs, while the defensive end was 1 interception, 1 clearance and 2 fouls, but Pogba also had a record of 3 losses under the close pressure of Leeds United players. And his 5 breakthroughs are all from the first half. Under the radiance of Sancho, B Fei and others, Pogba, who has always been considered the top player of Manchester United, seems to have become a bit chicken. No, it is naturally an extreme waste of his talent, and his flaws on the defensive end are also very headaches.
It should be pointed out that in the first leg of the two teams, Pogba, who staged an assist for the senior, appeared on the left guard position, and his position in the game was even more like a left winger, while sending 5 key passes and 4 assists, the two highest statistics of the whole game, his 3 losses of the ball were also unsurpassed, and Manchester United's only goal conceded was also directly related to his staring at the disadvantages, but the flaws were not hidden, and the excellent performance on the offensive end made Airtight selectively forget his mistakes on the defensive end. In addition, the position of full-back is less under less defensive pressure and has a higher fault tolerance.
In fact, the most suitable for Pogba's technical characteristics is also a full-back. He is tall and has excellent foot skills, can form a misplaced strike when attacking with the ball, and it is better to assign him a few mobile players so that he can play the characteristics of his passing accuracy. In the first leg against Leeds United, the other players in the Manchester United midfield were B Fee, Greenwood and Daniel James, which was undoubtedly a great appetite for Pogba.
But Pogba's figure on the defensive end will be hit by the opponent's misalignment, and in terms of defensive awareness, he is really very ordinary. In fact, Lonnick is not unaware of this. The key is that Sancho is now playing better and better on the left side, this game is also a free assist to score twice, Lonnick let Rashford sit on the bench for 90 minutes and was not willing to replace him, naturally it is even more unlikely to let Pogba take his place. In fact, United's lack of ball-handling attacking players has also improved dramatically after Sancho found the feel of the game, which has made Ronnick's need for Pogba's offensive talent less intense.
In this case, Pogba, who is placed in the back position, is also a bit embarrassing, on the offensive end he has bright spots but not the protagonist, the defensive interception of the midfield, he is not reassuring, in recent times, everyone can see that the wheat is tired, but he still has to grit his teeth and insist, because Nemanja Matic is old, Fred is only suitable for the supplement, Manchester United has the body to fight against people with defensive output, only he.
Therefore, Pogba's departure from the team this summer is not an unacceptable result for Manchester United, and if he can sign Rice, who can play alone in midfield, United's overall combat ability can still go to a higher level. Pogba's best bet is to join a team that can win more titles as soon as possible, such as Real Madrid, Paris Greater and, of course, Manchester City next door.