If it wasn’t the absence of Jose Mourinho, it could only have been the full moon beaming down on the Cardiff City stadium that brought out the competitor in Paul Pogba again after months of messing and mind games under the previous manager.
Pogba didn’t bare his teeth, but he took this game by the scruff of the neck and shook it — his three assists in the rout of Cardiff providing evidence that he can yet help turn round United’s mediocre season.
Last night he broke his media silence and thanked Mourinho for improving him as a player and a person during his time as United manager. “With Jose we won trophies. I want to thank him for that even if not everything went well,” he said. “He made me improve, as a person as well. So that’s it. That is the past. I thank him for that and so I am sure do all the players. Now we look forward to the next game. We want to go back to the top of the league. That is all I want to say.
“The performance of the team was great and we are happy with the first game of the manager that starts like this and the most important thing is to carry on like that. We cannot play like this and score five goals and then lose the next game.”
Pogba and Mourinho had a fractious relationship before the Portuguese’s sacking on Tuesday, but teammate Ashley Young described as “total lies” reports that the players celebrated in the dressing room when they learnt of Mourinho’s departure.
Pogba’s rehabilitation was swift last night as he started a league game for the first time since the 2-2 draw at Southampton on December 1. Interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would like to think that all that happened since then — including Mourinho’s sacking and the reported dressing-room celebrations — were water under the bridge as the happy-go-lucky Pogba he coached at United was back in a Solskjaer team eight years later. Solskjaer back then, as manager of United reserves, used to play Pogba as a number 10 and allow him free rein, but last night he wasn’t so indulgent.
Granted, Pogba started in what he says is his favourite position, the left of a three-man midfield, and certainly he did more going forward with the ball than he did attending to the defensive side of the game. That was probably enough to swing the game United’s way, but it won’t always be so easy. Cardiff were disappointing, as soft a touch as they were when Solskjaer himself was their manager four years ago.
Pogba’s first contribution was a telling one, when he forced Aron Gunnarsson into a foul 25 yards from goal. It looked like Pogba was going to take the free kick himself, but he ran over the ball and up stepped Marcus Rashford to hit a low shot that totally deceived goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and ended up in the net.
There was a reminder of the Pogba who infuriated Mourinho shortly after, when he swung wildly while trying to play a through ball and ended up slicing it into the path of Cardiff winger Josh Murphy, who ran at the United penalty area before being halted by Young.
Otherwise Pogba was involved and busy. His second assist came when he supplied the ball for Ander Herrera’s deflected goal, which gave United a 2-0 lead before the half hour, and he also had a part in the third, netted by Anthony Martial.
Pogba almost scored himself in the 70th minute, forcing an excellent diving save from Etheridge and then produced a sublime through ball for Lingard’s second goal, United’s fifth. Though the United away fans were suitably jovial there was no chorus to suggest that they had a hero in their midst once again.
Most of them will want more convincing that Pogba isn’t pursuing his United career purely on his own terms. With typical showmanship he ended up running into the away section after the final whistle and ripping off his shirt. Quite a contrast from the figure we have seen huddled on the bench or in the stand in recent weeks with his face covered by his hand or a thick scarf. The smile was back on his face, which is nice to see, but United fans will still look for proof there is substance to go with it. This felt like a start and that’ll do for now.
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