Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba seems liberated without having to labour under the weight of Jose Mourinho’s instructions after declaring that he is “enjoying” his football again.
Pogba has been a new man since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer arrived at Old Trafford in December, during which time the Frenchman has provided more assists than any other Premier League player (4).
Four key things to know about ‘Pogback’…
- Manchester United re-signed Pogba for a then world-record fee of £89m in 2016.
- His form dipped at the start of this season and Mourinho criticised his attitude.
- Since Solskjaer arrived at the club, no Premier League player has been directly involved in more goals than Pogba (4 goals, 4 assists).
- Pogba assisted again on Sunday at Spurs when he set up Marcus Rashford’s winner.
The World Cup winner was made to play in a more subdued role under Mourinho and was even dropped to the bench in the Portuguese tactician’s final games with the club.
But Pogba says he’s now relishing life under the new regime. “I would say I’m enjoying playing football. It was difficult with the system and tactics that we used to play,” Pogba told Sky Sports.
“I like to be more attacking – defending is not my best attribute. Where I play [at the moment] we understand each other and I’m where I feel most comfortable.
“The manager [Solskjaer] told me to get into the box and score goals. If you get in the box you will score goals.
“The best example is Frank Lampard; he makes the run and scores goals.”
Pogba played a delightfully weighted pass into the path of Rashford, who only needed to take one touch before striking the ball past Hugo Lloris to score United’s opener at Wembley.
United threatened to extend their lead in the first half and, despite a very shaky second period, Rashford’s goal was all they needed to claim three points and move to within six points of the top four.
Man Utd have an easier run of fixtures in the Premier League to close out January before they have to play Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool on the bounce in February.
They entertain Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford next Saturday, where they will be looking to improve upon the poor showing they produced at the Amex Stadium.
Is Pogba a Lampard fan-boy?
Paul Pogba’s game by numbers vs. Tottenham:
67 touches
100% tackles won
30 (81%) passes completed
6 shots
5 shots on target
4 take-ons completed
3 chances created
1 aerial duel won
1 clearanceA fine performance.
pic.twitter.com/qWDf7qJQBv
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 13, 2019
It’s telling that Pogba mentioned Lampard’s modus operandi following United’s victory on Sunday.
The former Chelsea maestro finished his career at Stamford Bridge as the club’s all-time top scorer – a sensational fact when you consider his position – and he got there by consistently popping up in and around the box to snatch goals, something the Frenchman has sought to emulate for some time. Toward the end of his time at Juventus, Pogba said, “I want to be the midfielder who can do everything, and at the highest levels. Shooting, dribbling, scoring, defending. I want to be like Lampard, but better.”
And when Pogba began to work with Mourinho at United, the Portuguese took the same approach to unleashing his goalscoring potential as he applied in 2004 when coaching a young Lampard at Chelsea. Then, as Michael Carrick started to take more of a coaching role, he too encouraged Pogba to make more “Lampard runs.”
It would be a tall order for Pogba to equal the Chelsea legends achievements, let alone “surpass” them. For his part, however, Lampard believes Pogba has more natural talent than he ever possessed.
The post Pogba enjoying Man Utd life after ‘difficult’ Mourinho tactics appeared first on Squawka News.
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