PREMIER LEAGUE POGBA MAKES
No smiley face for star midfielder...even after Zlatan’s late rescue act
So, WHAT Paul Pogba emoji would best suit yesterday’s performance? Is there a face palm, a red with embarrassment, a wide- eyed with shock? Any, or all would have been appropriate.
on the day that Pogba’s latest commercial gimmick was launched, Manchester United’s most expensive player gifted the draw to Liverpool.
Pogba is the first footballer to have his own line of emojis, promoted heavily on the electronic advertising hoardings around the ground, but by the end he was trending on social media for all the wrong reasons.
United fanatic Usain Bolt even tweeted a quartet of angry, scarlet faces to make plain his displeasure. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late equaliser was a crowd-pleaser and will have gone a long way to mollifying the locals, but when the noise dies down it will dawn that this was a better result for Liverpool than United — and it was best of all for Chelsea.
Antonio Conte’s men have seven points on Liverpool now and 12 on United and despite Ibrahimovic whistling to keep his spirits up by pointing to a long unbeaten run of 16 matches in domestic competitions, the fact remains that within it United have played three matches at home against teams challenging for the title and have drawn two: against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Before the game, Jose Mourinho wondered how Liverpool would fare against a big team, but the same could be asked of his men. However relieved they will have been at the end, they failed an important test.
Even had they won, 10 points adrift would have been a tall order, but 12 appears insurmountable, even if Chelsea may lose Diego Costa. of all managers, Mourinho will know Chelsea have a group of players capable of closing ranks and defending a title lead. His last Premier League championship was earned that way in the second half of the season and maybe this one will be, too. Meanwhile, here was a result that did two of the chasing pack no favours, really.
Anyway, back to Mr Emoji, and it was Mourinho’s misfortune that his most expensive summer acquisition should choose to turn in perhaps his most error- strewn performance in a United shirt on such an important occasion. Pogba made any number of mistakes, but the most significant was a hapless handball that left United chasing the game, conceding a penalty, converted by James Milner, who has not missed a Premier League penalty for Liverpool, and has never lost a Premier League game in which he has scored.
The crucial event came in the 28th minute, after a period in which Liverpool had barely threatened, save for a moment when Phil Jones was caught in possession by Roberto Firmino, only to be rescued by Marcos Rojo.
The penalty was a brave call by referee Michael oliver, given in front of the Stretford End, but also the right one. Pogba had lost his bearings trying to jump for a deep corner with Dejan Lovren, lost track of the ball, lost track of his relation to it. He was too focused on the man, not the action, and the ball dropped on his arm in mid-air. Milner stepped up to take it, and converted with tremendous verve. David de Gea went the right way, but Milner’s power and accuracy were too great.
If this had been Pogba’s only aberration it would have been bad enough, but he nearly presented a second to Liverpool after half-time, when caught in possession, allowing Emre Can to break. He found Georginio Wijnaldum at the far post, but from an unmarked position he headed over. There was also a firsthalf miss from Pogba, picked out by Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 19th minute as he delayed his arrival, third man into the box. It fell sweetly and was a good chance but Pogba steered it wide of the far post. Frowny face. Gritted teeth. Maybe the one that looks like The Scream.
So it was left to old faithful to give United the point they deserved. Ibrahimovic has now scored as many goals in his first 20 Premier League games, 14, as Sergio Aguero and Alan Shearer.
It was a scrappy affair, but merited, considering the way United had chased the game in the second half. Wayne Rooney, on as a half-time substitute for the misfiring Michael Carrick, chipped a ball to another substitute, Marouane Fellaini, whose header hit the far post. It was recycled by Antonio Valencia and this time Ibrahimovic did not miss, arching his torso to send it in off the bar. old Trafford erupted, as did Mourinho and Ibrahimovic, imploring the crowd for more noise and intensity.
This could certainly be found on the touchline where Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp had to be kept apart after a disagreement over a clash between Firmino and Ander Herrera. They had made up by the end, though, even if the post-match views were waspish. United attacked, Liverpool defended, thought Mourinho; United played long balls, countered Klopp.
Neither man was being wholly fair. Yes, United were longer in the second half, but there was a lot of excitement and energy about their play, too; and although Liverpool did not have many chances, they were determined and hard-working and always a threat on the counterattack. The result was a fair exchange; no robbery.
Like many clashes between these teams, it took a short while to get going. A lot of thud and blunder, not much coherent football — but once the play settled down it was United who were first to show a glimmer of recent form.
Had Anthony Martial not overcooked a cross after 14 minutes, Ibrahimovic would have been in at the far post having lost his marker. Unfortunately, even the daily yoga sessions couldn’t help him bring the ball under control.
Liverpool almost let Ibrahimovic in again, from an underhit back pass by Lovren, disaster averted only by quick thinking from goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. He charged from his line and smashed the ball against the shin of the advancing Ibrahimovic, fingers crossed as it ricocheted over his head, landing on the roof of the net. Mignolet is often identified as a weak link at Liverpool, but he was excellent here, making the save of the match after 34 minutes.
Divock origi brought down Herrera on the edge of the area, Ibrahimovic, who else, stood over it and surprised everyone by firing low through the wall. It was on Mignolet’s side, but he saw it late, yet got down to it and with the strength to push it away.
Soon after, Herrera played Mkhitaryan through one on one, but Mignolet was again equal.
De Gea’s best moment came after 61 minutes when substitute Philippe Coutinho made an immediate impact, putting in Firmino, whose shot was saved.
Klopp compared United’s form to a ‘rolling beetle’. He sounded happy to have stopped their momentum. What is driving Chelsea, however, will not be so easily squashed.