Pogba yearns for United to attack after drab draw
FOR weeks now, Paul Pogba has given the impression of a man with a lot to get off his chest. He has been happy to fuel the uncertainty about his own future at Manchester United and done little to disguise a frosty relationship with Jose Mourinho but, beyond questioning the team’s attitude after the woeful 3-2 defeat at Brighton, he has strayed away from criticising the way they play under the Portuguese.
Even as he stopped to talk in the wake of United’s latest troubled outing at Old Trafford, exasperation on his face, the France midfielder seemed to be caught in two minds about precisely how much he should say, and how far he should go.
Yet, by the end of a five-minute conversation, Pogba had spelt out enough of his frustrations about United’s leaden attack to suggest he believes the problems run deeper than a question of attitude, which Mourinho had taken a hammer to after watching Wolverhampton Wanderers come from behind to claim a deserved point.
Too often against Wolves, Pogba would pick up the ball and be confronted with a plethora of static United bodies. It has become a familiar pattern and, when asked if there needed to be far more movement ahead of him, Pogba gave a wry laugh before abandoning any attempt at diplomacy.
United, for his liking, simply do not play on the front foot nearly as much as they should at home.
“I’m not the manager, I cannot, like, say that but... obviously, we should show more option of playing but I cannot say that because I’m a player,” Pogba said. “That’s my way of thinking – we should move better, we should move more, yeah.
“I know I lost the ball [for their goal]. Then there were a few more mistakes and not a lot of movement in front because we didn’t really put them in trouble. We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. When we are at home, we should attack, attack, attack. That’s Old Trafford. We are here to attack. I think teams are scared when they see Man United attacking and attacking. That was our mistake.”
POSSESSION
As Pogba acknowledged, it was from his error – losing possession in midfield to the outstanding Ruben Neves – that Wolves equalised, but it was from his deft lay-off to Fred that United also took an early lead.
There was no hiding from either on a day when Old Trafford again lay witness to Pogba’s good and bad sides. But, while Neves and Joao Moutinho dovetailed beautifully in midfield for Wolves, Helder Costa’s pace and movement asked persistent questions of United’s defence and Raul Jimenez led the line superbly, United’s creativity started and ended with Pogba.
Alexis Sanchez plumbed new depths before he was dragged off with barely an hour gone, although, in another veiled criticism of Mourinho’s football, Pogba suggested the transition from Arsenal and Arsene Wenger was
not proving straight-forward for his team-mate.
Sanchez aside, Romelu Lukaku cut a cumbersome figure, Jesse Lingard faded after a bright start and, from full-back, Antonio Valencia seemed to resolve early on that he did not have the legs to get in behind Wolves’ defence and Luke Shaw was too busy trying to stop Costa to join the attack.
Mourinho claimed that, whereas Wolves came to “play the game of their lives”, his side came “to relax”. So, what did Pogba think? “Yeah, it’s true that maybe we should have showed more hunger in some parts,” he said.
“Maybe the attitude should be better and we should play better because, again, we are at Old Trafford and we should just attack
and press like we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal last season. When we play like this, it’s easier for us.”
What is stopping United from doing that? “I can’t tell you because I’m a player. It’s not me,” Pogba said.
United have dropped six points in seven home games against newly promoted sides under Mourinho – one more than they dropped in the 10 seasons prior to his arrival – and the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are already at risk of disappearing from view. “It’s not that we should get worried but we should obviously get closer,” Pogba said.
“We’ve had three games at home and we’ve got only four points. It’s not enough.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)