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Why Pogba was Man of the Match against Stoke City

by
Matt Bullin
Tuesday 16 January 2018 09:42

Manchester United's record signing Paul Pogba claimed the club's Man of the Match award, as voted for by fans on Twitter, following the 3-0 win over Stoke City.

The French midfielder claimed 86 per cent of the votes, beating his team-mates Anthony Martial (nine per cent) and Romelu Lukaku (five per cent) to the accolade.

Pogba provided the assists for both of United's opening goals, taking his tally for the season to nine, a figure only matched in the Premier League by Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane of Manchester City.

However, it was the no.6's all-round contribution which made him stand out on a rainy night at Old Trafford, using his power and pace to dominate the middle of the park throughout the 90 minutes.

Pogba made 77 passes in the victory, with a completion rate of 90 per cent, as well as making 96 touches, the most by any United player on the night, illustrating his influence.

He also won seven of his 15 ground duels and gained possession on six occasions, showing the defensive side of his game was also strong.
After the match, Pogba admitted he enjoyed the freedom Jose Mourinho allowed him to play with against Stoke, as well as insisting that the Reds have not given up on the title race.

"I played further forward so I had more freedom, to pass forward and find my team-mates," he told Sky Sports. "[I suit that role because] I can use more of my attributes to go forward to use my power, my shooting, or try to make an assist, so yes, playing up the field suits me more."

"It's really good for me to make assists for my team-mates to score, but the most important thing is for the team to win," he added. "If I can do more by scoring more goals - that would be great - but the most important thing is getting results, and trying to catch [Manchester City].

"Like everybody else, we want to win the league. We know we are far away, but we have to try."
Goals: United 3 Stoke City 0 Video

Goals: United 3 Stoke City 0

Take a look back on the superb goals against the Potters...

Pogba: We scored beautiful goals Video

Pogba: We scored beautiful goals

Paul Pogba was full of praise for our goals during his post-match interview with MUTV's Stewart Gardner...

ANALYSIS

ManUtd.com's Mark Froggatt...

"As a United fan and club reporter, I am admittedly biased, but I firmly believe much more attention should be paid to Pogba drawing level with Manchester City talisman Kevin De Bruyne on nine Premier League assists, having made 10 fewer appearances due to injury and suspension. The Belgium international is a favourite to win the PFA Player of the Year award this campaign and deserves the praise he is currently receiving, because he is annoyingly good, but it is almost laughable that Pogba is not mentioned in the same breath. Yes, Paul has colourful hairstyles, is active on social media and enjoys his life, but do not let that distract you from his performances on the pitch, which are getting better and better this season. Make no mistake, he is definitely the real deal."

THE BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Pogba's dominant performance against Stoke quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, where the Frenchman was widely praised by all manner of users...

 

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