The holiday season and the start of the year, with its accumulation of matches, is a perfect time for an English league player or team to get back on track. The comeback of Manchester United, at the top of the Premier League before facing Liverpool on Sunday 17 January (5:30 p.m.), coincided with the rise of Paul Pogba.
Relations between the world champion and Manchester United have always been passionate. His departure on the sly before his explosion at Juve then his return in 2016 give him a special place in the club, and above all attract the eye of critics. What does it matter if since then, the 105 million euros estimated for his repatriation to Old Trafford – a record at the time – now place him “only” in sixth place among the most expensive transfers.
In the “England derby”, he and his partners can change their dimension: a victory on Sunday at Anfield, which no team has managed to achieve for more than three years in the Premier League, and United would take six points. ahead of the defending champion.
How is your team getting on? https://t.co/PeQxBGUlLk
In the industrial city in the north-east of England, “the Pickaxe” has known everything: the cold relations with José Mourinho during the first two seasons, the idyll during the early days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; titles, but also injuries and questioning. He was for a long time the only player capable of raising the level of play of the Mancuniens, still not recovered from the departure of the historical coach Alex Ferguson in 2013.
Want to go
So when the Red Devils are in pain, all eyes are on the Frenchman. At the beginning of December, the club rocked seriously, after the two defeats in the Champions League against Paris-Saint-Germain at home, then in Germany against Leipzig, synonymous with elimination.
Between these last two meetings, the influential agent of the world champion Mino Raiola had set foot in the dish. “Paul is unhappy at Manchester United. He must change teams, change air. He has a contract which will end in a year and a half, in the summer of 2022, but the best solution, in my opinion, would be for it to be sold at the next transfer window ”, had he let go of the Italian daily Tuttosport. Enough to relaunch the soap opera Pogba, often announced at the start (for a return to Juve or an arrival at Real Madrid of Zidane).
Throughout the fall, the European Champions League campaign was mainly marked by the absence of the Frenchman. Despite an excellent start at the Parc des Princes during the first match, he spent most of the six meetings on the bench, holding only once in six.
The momentum that accompanied coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first steps in December 2018 seemed to have fizzled out. Little in sight during the José Mourinho era – who arrived at the same time as him in the summer of 2016 – Paul Pogba had joined the softer management of the Norwegian, who had also given him a more offensive role on the ground. The Frenchman had his best months at the club, piling up goals. The period culminated with the unexpected qualification against PSG in the round of 16 of the Champions League, even though Pogba, suspended, had not participated in the second leg.
The elimination in the quarterfinals against Barcelona had broken the momentum. Then the French could not follow, held back by an injury at the start of the following season and then by the Covid-19 before the start of the 2020-2021 championship.
Difficulty facing big
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s attacking fate has been handed over to another player: Bruno Fernandes. Arrived a month ago, the Portuguese midfielder has transformed the Red Devils. Four times elected “Player of the month” in the Premier League since his arrival, he has given a little color to the Manchester attack by his movements and his precise passes. In the Champions League, he was also at the heart of Solskjaer’s device.
Since elimination in the Champions League, Manchester has not lost in the league. The team used their late game against Burnley on Tuesday January 12 to take the lead in the Premier League. An unprecedented situation since the departure of “Sir Alex”. Unaccustomed to criticism, Paul Pogba fully contributed, scoring the only goal of victory.
🍾Man of the Match🍾: @ ManUtd’s Paul Pogba 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 keys 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 passes completed 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 aerials won 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 clearances 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁… https://t.co/X5DlpGdm5V
“I feel very good physically and mentally too. The difference is huge when you start one game and you don’t play the other, or if you don’t play for a few matches ”, he explained in an interview for the English channel Skysports.
Against Liverpool on Sunday, the challenge will be much greater for a team that has not won against big teams this season – draw against Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea, loss to Tottenham in the league, elimination in the semi-finals of the Cup League against City. A perfect opportunity for Pogba to sublimate himself and to allow himself, for a time, a respite in his relations with Manchester.
