SUPER MAC’S THE TOP DOG
IT WAS a night when Manchester United were looking to £89m club record signing Paul Pogba for a big statement performance to lift them from their recent slumber.
But it was Pogba’s midfield partner, Scott McTominay, who took the lead and upstaged his more celebrated team-mate.
He put on a show full of industry and commitment that was capped by a stunning goal.
McTominay, 22, has been at United since the age of five and came through the ranks. He got his break under former boss Jose Mourinho, who made him his unofficial player of the season at the club’s awards ceremony at the end of the 2017-18 season. The Lancasterborn midfielder may lack the profile of Pogba (inset) and other team-mates like Jesse Lingard. But he has started every Premier League game this season and been one of the few United players to emerge with credit from the team’s unconvincing start to the campaign.
His goal, a fine 20-yard strike aided by Granit Xhaka’s inexplicable decision to duck his head out of the way, was just reward for his efforts.
He worked hard in the middle of the pitch, breaking up play and holding United’s midfield together. It was only McTominay’s third goal in 54 outings for United but it could not have been more timely, even though it was ultimately cancelled out by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 59th-minute equaliser.
For World Cup winner Pogba, making his Premier League return for United after a three-and-a-half week lay-off with an ankle injury, it was another mixed night. His passing was awry early on before he grew into the game and played with more conviction.
But United’s star player continued to squander possession cheaply after the break and needed to exert more influence, although he came close to restoring their lead on 64 minutes when he shot just wide.
Former United skipper Roy Keane bemoaned the lack of leaders in the United side in the wake of their insipid 2-0 defeat at West Ham.
But in McTominay, who went close to grabbing a second goal with a header, the Reds have found a player willing and capable of stepping up to the plate.