Jose: There is no problem with Pogba, subbing him was tactical

JOSE MOURINHO withdrew Paul Pogba just 60 seconds after his part in Newcastle’s winning goal because he wanted to bring on a substitute to simplify his team’s tactics. The Manchester United boss replaced his £89million midfielder with Michael Carrick on 66 minutes and later confirmed that it was a tactical decision. ‘There was no problem with Pogba,’ he said. ‘I wanted a better way to come out against a compact team by bringing on Michael Carrick. He makes everything simple.’ Pogba had lost Newcastle’s Florian Lejeune, allowing the defender to win a header from a free-kick in the buildup to Matt Ritchie’s goal. Mourinho added: ‘I am disappointed with the defending. We missed the challenge in the air. Two of my players stayed on the floor and looked at him.’ Former Newcastle manager Graeme Souness was critical of Pogba in his newspaper column before the game, accusing him of playing ‘like a schoolboy running after the ball in the playground’. But Mourinho was prickly when pressed on that subject and said: ‘I will not talk about individual players.’ The Portuguese coach was, however, keen to praise the spirit of Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle side. ‘They fought like animals,’ he said. ‘And animals is a good word, it’s a compliment. They gave everything they had. ‘They went over all the limits of their effort and sacrifice, everything a manager likes to see in his team.’ Benitez agreed, saying: ‘Every player gave everything. We were still a bit lucky at the end but deserved three points. ‘The team cares. They have some limitations but they work hard and won’t give up.’