Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has claimed Paul Pogba is carrying the club after his display at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Pogba scored twice as United beat Fulham 3-0 to climb into the top four, one point clear of Arsenal and Chelsea.
Is Paul Pogba carrying Man Utd under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Four things to know…
- Pogba has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than any other United player under Solskjaer (eight goals, five assists).
- Pogba is currently in his best goalscoring season with 11 goals.
- The France midfielder was believed to have been held back under former Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho.
- Under Mourinho, Pogba scored three goals in 14 games this season.
Since Solskjaer’s arrival at Old Trafford in December, Pogba has been one of the Norwegian’s key players. He currently has the biggest goal contribution of anyone at the club since the appointment (13).
Speaking to reporters about Pogba following the win over Fulham, Mata had nothing but praise for United’s man in form.
He said: “I’m happy for Paul, he is carrying the team and showing what a great midfielder he is, how complete he is.
“He has everything and he is showing it on the pitch.
“Solskjaer has come on and changed the results. He has given us joy and confidence. He had made us play in a better way.”
Pogba showed just how much of a complete midfielder he is in the win over Fulham with an all-round incredible display.
Paul Pogba's game by numbers vs. Fulham:
70 touches
43 passes
3 take-ons
3 shots
2 shots on target
2 fouls won
2 tackles
2 crosses
2 goalsA bit of everything.
pic.twitter.com/GsJznXm5Eq
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 9, 2019
Since Solskjaer took the reins at United, they have been unbeaten in 11 games across all competitions.
This includes games away to Tottenham and Arsenal which were considered to be Solskjaer’s first big tests.
Pogba showed up in both games, providing an assist for Marcus Rashford against Spurs and one for Anthony Martial against Arsenal.
With a massive test against PSG in midweek Pogba, along with Rashford and Martial, look to be hitting form at just the right time.
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel: sqwk.at/Squawka-Sub
PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday
Tuesday signals the start of a fairly difficult run for Solskjaer’s United. After welcoming PSG to Old Trafford for their round-of-16 meeting, they travel to Chelsea in the FA Cup before facing Liverpool back at home.
With Solskjaer only in charge on a caretaker basis currently, it’s unlikely that silverware is a priority. However, with him knowing the traditions of the club, it’ll be interesting to see how he tackles his next three fixtures.
Currently, United look in better shape than ever to take on PSG so this could be a chance to go on a run in the Champions League and see where it takes them.
Edinson Cavani is a major injury doubt along with Neymar, and Thomas Tuchel’s midfield has featured Dani Alves and Marquinhos lately.
They also tried to sure things up with their attempts to sign Idrissa Gueye last month. Seeing this and with United still unbeaten under Solskjaer, don’t be surprised to see him go all out in this game.
How that will affect the following games will be incredibly important, more so the Liverpool game, however. Liverpool will be looking to continue their title challenge as United hope to keep their top four hopes alive.
A crucial couple of weeks lie ahead for Solskjaer and his Red Devils.
The post Mata: Paul Pogba is carrying Man Utd appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka News http://bit.ly/2SnNjmH
No comments:
Post a Comment