Spectre for Devils
The spectre of Lionel Messi is scary enough for the Red Devils when they collide with Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League at Old Trafford today. But stopping the little Argentine genius won’t be Manchester United’s only defensive headache. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges are also tasked with containing the might of former Liverpool hitman Luis Suarez. The image of Messi’s partner-in-chief has been defined by his darker side – a relentless, ferocious and, occasionally, misguided opponent, running defenders ragged for the best part of a decade. And he’s just the villain to bedevil the Devils.
MANCHESTER: Ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League trip to Old Trafford, the Catalans’ president has admitted even they could not compete with Manchester United’s then world record offer to bring Paul Pogba back to England in 2016.
“We couldn’t afford that amount of money at the time,” Josep Maria Bartomeu told ESPN.
“So he went to United, and he’s making them better as a team because he’s one of the stars of the world of football right now.”
However, nearly three years on, United can feel they have still to receive sufficient bang for the bucks they paid to Juventus for Pogba in an £89mil (RM478mil) transfer fee.
The French World Cup winner will start for just the second time in a Champions League knockout game for United today.
Benched for both legs of a bitterly disappointing last-16 exit to Sevilla last season by Jose Mourinho due to personal differences and poor performances, Pogba’s only previous start ended in a red card and a 2-0 defeat to Paris St Germain back in February.
Without their suspended star, a youthful United side pulled off a miraculous 3-1 win in Paris to make it to the last eight for the first time in five years and give Pogba another chance to shine on the Champions League stage.
The arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to replace the sacked Mourinho in December removed any excuses that it was the Portuguese’s straitjacket that was limiting the output of one his most talented players.
An upturn in form was immediate. Pogba scored nine goals and created six more in his first 12 games under Solskjaer.
However, his form has cooled since, and not by coincidence so has United’s with three defeats in their last four games.
Pogba has also not done his approval ratings among the United fans any favours by publicly flirting with Real Madrid while away on international duty last month and talking of his admiration for Real boss Zinedine Zidane.
There can little better audition for a Real target than ending Barca’s bid for a third treble in a decade.
However, United are entitled to want Pogba to show the potential Zidane spoke of on a more regular basis.
For a club steeped in a history of inspirational midfielders such as Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes who demanded the highest standards of themselves and those around them, Pogba is too often hit or miss.
Indeed, there have even been suggestions that United would be wise to cash in if a bid north of £100mil (RM536mil) from Real materialises this summer, and use the money for the big rebuilding job needed at Old Trafford.
The signing of Pogba was meant to signal United’s return to the elite.
It is time for him to deliver on the biggest stage. — AFP