Jekyll-and-Hyde display proves again this Pog has had his day
PAUL POGBA put himself in the shop window in the first half against Southampton.
But he then showed in the second 45 minutes why few tears will be shed should he walk out of Manchester United this summer.
If he played like he did in the opening half every week then maybe there would be more concern about the fact he looks set to leave for nothing in four months.
But performances like this have been so few and far between that his departure will be met merely by a shrug of the shoulders.
This was a glimpse of what could have been for the Frenchman during his second spell at Old Trafford.
He controlled the game in the first 45 minutes as he dictated the tempo and provided the creativity that has been lacking in this United side so often this season.
This was the player they forked out £89million for six years ago to bring him back from Juventus.
But it was no coincidence that when his performance dropped before the break and after the restart, Southampton had their best spell and scored.
Che Adams got the goal that cancelled out Jadon Sancho’s earlier strike.
Pogba couldn’t lift his performance again to inspire United to get a winner. Now it seems like he will be unable to reignite his career at Old Trafford and a split in the summer may suit both parties.
Of course, injury has meant this season has been broken up for him. But he has never really prospered since returning to the club where he was once an academy starlet.
It looked like it would be a glorious comeback for him when he helped them to lift both the League Cup and Europa League under Jose Mourinho in his first season.
But there have not been enough stand-out performances from a player United believed would be a talisman in a new era.
There have been times when he has lifted his level and dominated games in a red shirt but they have never been followed up in a run of matches.
Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never really consistently got to see the player who was so good in a France side that won the World Cup in 2018.
Ralf Rangnick will believe this first-half display shows he may be on to something now he has Pogba back fit after a groin injury kept him out since November.
But is this just the former Juventus man putting on a display to get himself a nice move and a more lucrative contract in the summer?
Unless there is a sudden breakthrough in discussions he won’t be extending his United deal which is due to expire in June.
But, for now, Rangnick needs him to ensure they’re playing Champions League football again and can attract someone of quality to replace him.
Yet they didn’t buy him to chase the top four.
He was brought back to make them title contenders and challengers for the biggest prize in European football.
There were signs of the player in the opening half against Southampton.
Pogba’s passing was sublime as he found Sancho and Marcus Rashford in space on the flanks. He made crucial interceptions and he sauntered around the pitch like he owned it.
At times he looked a class above everyone else on the rain-soaked Old Trafford turf.
But as the game progressed, he regressed.
His influence on the match waned which allowed Oriol Romeu and James WardProwse to get a foothold in it.
Yet Pogba can’t be accused of a lack of effort in the second half.
He tried to raise his game again but nothing would come off. The space he created with passes in the first half just didn’t seem to be there.
A spectacular attempt at an overhead kick that went wrong when United were chasing the winner epitomised his display after the break.
If he could muster that first-half display across 90 minutes then he may be able to help United salvage something from another shocking season.
It would be a parting gift if not an ending to a success story United hoped he would write.