How United can win Pogba cutting out the sloppiness
A worrying feature of United’s games so far has been how easily opposition teams have stolen the ball from their midfielders, particularly Paul Pogba. No player in the Premier League has given the ball away as many times (49) this season.
Pogba is supposed to be in charge of getting the ball from defence to attack, creating chances and offering defensive cover, but for all his talent he is actually something of a liability, and one that Spurs will look to exploit.
In his defence, it is not always Pogba’s fault. On several occasions at Brighton he was caught out by a swarming high press and the poor positioning of his teammates, resulting in a clutch of misplaced passes (see graphic). Additionally, part of Pogba’s job is to create chances and any attacking player trying to deliver a key pass will naturally give the ball away more often.
A deeper dive into the statistics show just how reckless Pogba (below) is in possession. From two games so far this season, 25 per cent of his total touches have given the ball away. His passing accuracy is 81.7 per cent.
Fred was also criticised at Brighton and 15 per cent of his touches resulted in lost possession, making the decision to hook Andreas Pereira at halftime all the more odd.
Spurs will target and surround both players to try to take advantage.