Pogba the beating heart of Jose’s vision
JOSE Mourinho looked to the ceiling of the Etihad press room as he recalled those intense mornings at Carrington.
Those sessions that seemed a lifetime ago after a match like that. He deliberated for five seconds before finally spitting it out.
“I know that Paul had a very good week of work, especially Tuesday and Wednesday. He had two fantastic training sessions and this game comes in that sequence,” he told reporters after that famous 3-2 win against City.
For Mourinho, this was an unusual statement. Firstly, lavishing praise on Paul Pogba. Secondly, singling out a particular player for his performance in training. A street footballer like Pogba is not necessarily the hardest trainer at United – he previously revealed he ‘hated defensive tactics because you just have to drill’ – but he is starting to get on the same page as Mourinho again.
That animated exchange on the touchline at Wembley back in January grabbed the headlines – long before Pep Guardiola sensationally claimed that Mino Raiola had offered him the chance to sign him – but these are two winners desperate to bring success back to Old Trafford.
The argument now is that they both need each other to do it.
Pogba’s reaction at the full-time whistle told you that as he repeatedly gestured to United fans to not believe the rumours after his two goals helped delay City’s title celebrations.
Slowly, Pogba is showing a greater awareness of his responsibility as United’s talisman, knowing that he had to step up and spearhead the attack by getting into the box and targeting City’s soft centre.
The kind of player Frank Lampard became under Mourinho’s guidance at a similar age.
The Chelsea great made his name by arriving in the box at just the right time and, perhaps, there are few better to advise Pogba on how he can build on his most commanding half yet for United.
“He needs to time his runs like he did for the second goal when Sanchez put it on a plate for him,” he told Match of the Day.
“If he does that more – and he’s got all the attributes to do that regularly, he could score a lot more goals and be that real top-class midfielder that he’s threatening to be.”
That is the challenge for Pogba, and indeed Mourinho.
How can the Portuguese set his side up so that they can play like that without first going 2-0 down? Pogba knows he has Nemanja Matic behind him to allow him to roam in a 4-3-3, but he has often missed another partner who he is able to link up with further forward. That is why Mourinho instructed his wingers, Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard, to move inside at halftime. Going forward, that blossoming partnership with Sanchez, will be so important. The pair shared a quiet word before things got underway at the Etihad – a recurring theme in their time together at the club – and Sanchez vowed that he would find Pogba if he made that run into the box. It paid off, eventually, and slowly Mourinho’s vision is taking shape. Frank Lampard on Paul Pogba