CAN POGBA FIN ALLY DELIVER?
French ace will shine if Ole takes off brakes
THE missing ingredient in Ma n c h e s t e r U n i t e d ’ s domestic season so far is how to hurt the big teams. They failed to score against Ch e l s e a , Ar s e n a l and Manchester City twice, and netted only once against Tottenham before conceding six.
It leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a dil emma t ravelling to Anfield as Premier League leaders. If United park the bus and draw another blank, he’ll be criticised. If t hey open up and l ose t hei r unbeaten run, he’ll be criticised!
I suspect United might try to keep it tight again with Scott McTominay and Fred as twin midfield holders. But it didn’t lead to any joy against City in the Carabao Cup semi-final so I’d be tempted to be braver, treat the Liverpool game as a free hit and attempt to exploit their injury problems.
The key to any gamble working is Paul Pogba. He missed plenty of big games last year because of injury and loss of form but he’s started 2021 with a bang and I’d use that surge of confidence to give Jurgen Klopp something he may not be expecting.
Pogba’s r evival complicates Solskjaer’s selection because he has made himself undroppable after the classy midweek winner at Burnley.
If the French superstar plays on the left of a front three, it has a knock-on effect because Marcus Rashford then has to switch to the right, where he’s slightly less comfortable without the option to cut inside on his left foot.
It also makes it harder to nullify the threat of Trent AlexanderArnold because Pogba wants to drift inside rather than sticking to the wing, putting extra responsibility on Fred. Pogba is also less likely to exploit any space behind the right-back compared with a more natural wide player like Rashford.
Instead, I’d be tempted to play Pogba alongside McTominay or Fred in the central position he occupies for his World Cup- winning national team and break up the partnership of the two more defensively-minded players.
Over the course of the season, having Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the same midfield three makes United defensively vulnerable, but for a one-off game like this I think the risk is worth taking.
For one thing, Liverpool aren’t the well-oiled machine from their titlewinning season because injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have led to a larger reshuffle.
Fabinho has done well at the back but been missed in midfield. If Jordan Henderson has to play alongside him today, United might find they can capitalise on Liverpool’s new-look midfield not having the s a me e x p e r i e n c e o f p l a y i n g together in big matches.
This feels like an old LiverpoolUnited game with both teams challenging at the top.
United are unbeaten in 11 League games and the way they have fought back to win so often shows that Solskjaer has built a strong team spirit. He’ll be aware that in this strange season, fortunes can change quickly.
The bonus for United is that even if they lose, they will still be level on points with the champions. And if they win, they move six points clear and deliver a real statement of intent. With Pogba returning to his best, it might be time for the man at the wheel to take the handbrake off.