Pre-season woes forgotten as Pogba hits the ground running for United
After a summer of discontent it took just 77 seconds for the storm clouds that had enveloped Manchester United in pre-season to be blown away.
Manchester United were united, at least on the field, as Paul Pogba, named captain on his return after winning the World Cup with France in the summer, scored from the penalty spot with his first touch.
It set United up for a 2-1 win over Leicester City and leave manager Jose Mourinho a good deal happier then his demeanour had been during pre-season – and on Thursday when it had become clear that no further signings would be made on transfer deadline day.
The Portuguese had smiled during the game as supporters, led by a noisy group in J-Stand at Old Trafford, sang his name.
“With the circumstances, a good performance,” Mourinho said. “Pre-season was very hard and we needed this fantastic experience by the players.”
It had been only 26 days since Pogba had scored in the World Cup final as France became world champions.
The return of the midfielder was closely guarded but an effective means of lifting spirits among fans underwhelmed by the summer’s transfer activity.
It was United’s way of putting on a public united front after a spell of the club, its manager and their most expensive player sending very different messages about how they see things.
The disquiet started long before the pre-season, as United’s performances slid into an unconvincing mire towards the end of last season and Mourinho hardly improved matters with a catalogue of complaints over the summer, but little of that seemed to matter on Friday. United’s players were introduced to optimism fuelled roars that had barely died down when the penalty was awarded after Daniel Amartey handled an Alexis Sanchez cross.
So far, so good for the men in an unconventional red, black and red kit. They were further encouraged by the Premier League debuts of Brazilian duo Fred and Andreas Pereira.
The midfielders were tenacious and covered much ground. With Sanchez as a central striker, the selection was unorthodox but understandable due to injuries and because players are still missing after their World Cup finals endeavours. United, though, had an initial energy about them too often lacking last season. Leicester did rally and pushed United back forcing David de Gea into making a terrific save to deny James Maddison in the first half.
Leicester would have 13 shots to United’s eight and 54 per cent of possession, they won praise from Mourinho, but they failed to convert chances into goals and United were able to bring on attacking talent in the second half to change things up.
As Anthony Martial, linked with a move away in the transfer window, warmed up to applause from United fans, and fellow United forward Romelu Lukaku was introduced after 65 minutes.
The Belgian should have doubled the lead with 13 minutes remaining but he took too long after being set up by Sanchez and Kasper Schmeichel rushed out to save his effort. That did not prove too costly as Luke Shaw made sure of victory when he got on the end of a Juan Mata pass to find the net from a tight angle. It was his first goal in almost seven years of senior football.
“The best feeling,” was how Shaw described scenes of him running towards the seats where the players’ families sit and celebrating in a cathartic release after years of frustration.
“The performance was very complete, he just has to keep going,” said Mourinho of the left-back, who he has been often critical of in the past. “The mentality and tactical discipline was very good.”
Though Jamie Vardy did net a consolation goal in stoppage time it was not enough to stop United from beginning Mourinho’s third campaign in charge with three points.