POGBA: YES, WE CAN CATCH CITY
MANCHESTER UNITED have refused a film crew behind-the-scenes access at Old Trafford in what could be construed as an act of derby-day point-scoring.
Manchester City are four months into a £10million, season-long documentary series produced by Amazon Prime, charting their second campaign with Pep Guardiola in charge.
But in a serious blow, they will be unable to capture intimate moments before or after Sunday’s clash.
Guardiola’s side can go 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League with victory, and exclusive clips of what could be a significant day would have been priceless. United sources last night said the rejection was a logistical decision. They claim 23 rights-holders, 19 of which are foreign broadcasters, will already be in the tunnel area. It means the Amazon crew will not be allowed into Guardiola’s dressing-room either. They are believed to have a station pitchside to shoot footage.
Guardiola heads across town having led City to wins in all seven of their away matches so far, and 14 out of 15 in all, but United midfielder Paul Pogba believes their lead in the table is surmountable.
The Frenchman will miss the first of three matches with suspension but is preparing to help his team-mates by acting as an extension of Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff in the build-up.
He said: ‘I will be there to help the team mentally. I need to be there to boost the team. I have complete trust in them. They need to win because they know that we are behind and we are closing.’
Pogba added that United will go out to attack City. ‘We need to,’ he said. ‘To win those games you need to give everything.’