I WISH WE’D PLAYED LIKE THIS ALL SEASON
Pogba says what every United fan is thinking
PAUL POGBA was talking about Manchester United but could have been referring to himself just as easily.
“I feel very happy, but there is one side of me that is disappointed too,” said United’s two-goal hero.
“Because, with a performance like we had in the second half, if we had done this all season I think we would be fighting for the title with City.
“Or we’d be just in front of them. It was a great second-half performance.
“If we had played like this all season, we would be at the top of the league.”
It would be unfair to blame Pogba alone for the 13-point gap between United and the champions-elect.
But if the £89m Frenchman could have performed more regularly like he did at the Etihad after the break, then we would probably have had a title battle on our hands.
The same applies to former Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez, although to a lesser degree because he only joined in January.
He was as bad as, if not marginally worse than, Pogba in the first half but made two goals in the second half, including Chris Smalling’s winner.
The Chile ace also played in the ball which led to Ander Herrera chesting down for Pogba to spark United’s comeback.
This was some match, one where you would have loved a camera to be in the United dressing room at half-time.
Midfielder Herrera admitted there had been plenty of soul-searching at half-time, with United lucky to be just 2-0 down after strikes from Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan.
At that point City were well on their way to being crowned champions and in record time.
United had different ideas after the break, when boss Jose Mourinho told his players not to be the clowns at City’s party.
Herrera said: “After Kompany scored we came completely down and we played really bad for the last 20 minutes.
“The best thing was the score – at half-time we were just 2-0 down. It was not about tactics, no, in the half-time we just talked about the pride, about the club. You can never underestimate it and in the end we came back. “Our pride was on the pitch. Our fans were there and they were going to have a difficult night if we got beaten. So we did it for them and, of course, for our position. “Everyone spoke, I don’t like to talk about anyone in particular. But, of course, the oldest guys, the most experienced (had something to say). They have the power in their words.” City now need two more wins to clinch the title. Mourinho insisted he had not been bothered about City boss Pep Guardiola’s pre-match claim that agent Mino Raiola had offered him Pogba in the January window. “I don’t even think about it,” he said. “We know with Guardiola and Mino, the relationship is not the best. “I was not worried about it, I was not upset. I didn’t speak with Paul about it. “I didn’t call Mino to ask him anything. I was just focused on the game and I think Paul was the same. Because the way he played is only possible when he’s focused on the game.”