Pogba’s spot of bother
THERE was a moment, deep in injury time, when Jose Mourinho sank to his haunches and began to wince in disbelief.
With three points in touching distance, all Manchester United — or, specifically, Paul Pogba — had to do was keep the ball. A simple pass was on to his right, but instead, the World Cup winner gave it three yards to Everton left back Lucas Digne. Old Trafford roared its frustration.
Here was an example of Bad Paul. You all know him — the extrovert, the showman, the man who doesn’t learn from mistakes. Bad Paul appeared a lot in the final 20 minutes, not least when his daft, elaborate flick gave Everton an opening to win a penalty.
The reason Mourinho did not become volcanic, however, was because Good Paul had been around for much of the afternoon. You all know him, too — the athlete, the wonderful talent, the man who has the ability to decide games in the blink of an eye. Pogba squeezed everything into this contest, running the whole gamut from the sublime to the ridiculousness of a penalty run- up that appeared as if he was walking across hot coals.
Without his contribution — and that of Anthony Martial — this had the potential to be the latest miserable chapter in a chaotic season. Some suggested this was United’s best day of the campaign but it ended with the manager stating his team cannot keep clean sheets or score enough goals.
Still, Mourinho was grateful for the win and, in the main, happy with Pogba. For the first 25 minutes, his only memorable contribution was a shot that curled out for a throw-in. He looked lost, unsure of whether he was playing from the left or as a No 10.
But then United got a penalty. It was contentious — Everton head coach Marco Silva was incensed that Martial made the most of Idrissa Gana Gueye’s challenge, especially as replays showed he had got studs on the ball.
‘The penalty had a big impact on the match,’ Silva said through gritted teeth. ‘I think you’ll be of the same opinion as me.’
Once awarded, the penalty was only going to have one taker. Up stepped Pogba, who started to shuffle. Tip-tap, tip-tap, 28 baby steps. None of it bothered Jordan Pickford, who dived the right way to save. He deserved better than to see the ball rebound to Pogba, who rolled into an empty net.
Then, though, it started to all come together for Pogba. Suddenly those long legs started covering the ground one stride to everyone else’s two. His passes
were zipped in and always found the target, and he crept into dangerous areas undetected.
Why can’t it be like this all the time? From a physical perspective, he stood out like a beacon here, nobody could match his athleticism and strength and when he decided to move through the gears, those blue-shirted pursuers must have felt like they were trying to harness a galloping racehorse
Pogba, with his confidence up, was instrumental in the goal that gave United breathing space. Four minutes into the second half, he shaped to shoot on the edge of the area but instead switched the play to Martial. His glorious 20-yard effort was in from the moment it left his right boot.
One question: why are United dithering over Martial’s new deal? On this evidence, it will be a long time before Romelu Lukaku, who was dreadful when he came on, or Alexis Sanchez regain their places but the longer negotiations remain slow, the list of clubs watching Martial will grow.
The hosts deserved their lead, yet Everton had more than enough openings to add to United’s angst. In one 10 minute spell before the break, Theo Walcott ( twice) and Gylfi Sigurdsson had glorious chances but could only shoot at David de Gea.
Everton should really have made this difficult for United after arriving in Manchester on the back of three wins. After going two behind, they should have halved the deficit. Richarlison, in the 52nd minute, found his compatriot Bernard and the elfin winger skipper around De Gea but, with the goal gaping, he fired into the side netting.
But Everton were not done and in the 77th minute, they had a penalty of their own, awarded after Chris Smalling flattened Richarlison. It came about after Pogba gave the ball away with an ostentatious flick, midway inside his own half. Sigurdsson duly converted. ‘I need to improve,’ a conciliatory Pogba noted. With their tails up, it felt like Everton might get one more chance, but, in a reminder of how things tend to be for Mourinho teams, United shut the game down and took the points. Nonetheless, it still feels a long way from being right.
The stadium had started to empty long before the final whistle. This team remains unpredictable: nobody embodies that more than Pogba.