Pogba names his two most difficult opponents
Paul Pogba has revealed the two toughest opponents he’s faced as a footballer – and also identified what he believes is his greatest performance in a United shirt.
The midfielder was taking part in a fan Q&A that appears in Sunday's United Review, when he was asked to name his toughest opponent and his best match.
And while most Reds can probably guess the United match he chose to highlight as his best, his choices for ‘most difficult opponent’ were more unpredictable.“Casemiro [of Real Madrid] too… he is a hard one also. I can’t remember all of them; they’re the first ones that come into mind that I had. Yes, those are the first ones. Maybe there are a few more players but I don’t have the names now.”
Of course, Kante was Pogba’s central midfield partner as France swept to World Cup success in Russia three years ago, but the humble Chelsea star has also caused problems for Paul when lining up against him.
In the 2016/17 season – Pogba’s first after returning to United following a spell at Juventus – Kante scored the final effort in a painful 4-0 defeat for us at Stamford Bridge, before lashing home the goal that knocked us out of the FA Cup a few months later.
Casemiro, meanwhile, was a difficult opponent in the 2017 Super Cup, where his goal set Real Madrid on the way to a 2-1 victory at our expense.
Classic Match: City 2 United 3
A Paul Pogba brace and Chris Smalling volley completed an epic comeback, when we visited Man City in April 2018...
For his greatest game, Pogba unsurprisingly went for the 2018 Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, where he scored twice to help us mount a remarkable comeback win from 2-0 down (watch the highlights above).
“I would say because it’s a memory of the game, the 3-2 versus Manchester City, because I scored two,” said our no.6.
“We ended up winning, but if City won the game they were going to be champions against us. We avoided that, so I would say this one.”
Excitingly for United’s fans, Pogba’s match-winning contributions seem to be increasing this season. He helped us reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League with a decisive goal at the San Siro against AC Milan, and also settled Premier League games at Burnley and Fulham with superb individual efforts.
Read more from Paul Pogba in Sunday's digital edition of United Review.