Paul Pogba’s towering performance against Germany last Tuesday is more an indictment of, than a boost for, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
n Munich Pogba looked every inch what his price tag once suggested he was, the best midfielder in the world. It beggared belief that this was the same player who less than three weeks previously cut a peripheral figure in the Europa League final against Villareal before being replaced.
For all the plaudits showered on Ngolo Kante following his tour de force in the Champions League final, the Chelsea midfielder was the junior partner in the French engine room.
Claims that Pogba “answered his critics” miss the point. No-one suggests he’s not a player of the very first rank. The question is why the full extent of his talent is rarely on show at United,
Tuesday night made all the suggestions that Pogba is doing OK at Old Trafford look foolish. A player of this stature should be contributing at least as much as Bruno Fernandes.
Similar performances at the last World Cup saw optimistic forecasts that Pogba’s imperious French form would transfer to the Premier League afterwards. But that never happened. United possess a sorely attenuated version of a great player and the buck for that must stop with the manager.