From the sublime to the ridiculous.
Paul Pogba helped Manchester United reach the Europa League final on Thursday night. Pogba was part of the team that advanced past Celta Vigo in the Europa League semi-final. The game finished 1-1, with United going through to the Stockholm final 2-1 on aggregate.
Jose Mourinho’s team will play Ajax in the final on May 24, after the Dutch side advanced past Lyon 5-4 on aggregate.
The semi-final at Old Trafford wasn’t a classic, but it was lit up by two moments of genuine quality.
First, Marcus Rashford set up Marouane Fellaini with a fantastic cross for United’s only goal of the game.
Fellaini's goal. https://t.co/MvCR0xlt3Q
— . (@TheUtdReview) May 11, 2017
Then Pogba produced this impressive piece of improvisation.
The 23-year-old midfielder, who’s world record transfer from Juventus to United last summer is being investigated by FIFA, controlled a loose ball in the centre circle during the first half.
He then knocked it over one Celta Vigo player, and over another player before breaking away and playing the ball to Rashford.
https://twitter.com/abhashmufc/status/862762960317501440
And then he did this:
It could be argued the two moments sum up Pogba’s season, his first back in England.
In the first clip, the midfielder shows a flash of improvised skill, an impressive, off the cuff piece of improvisation.
In the second clip, he suffers a complete brain fart failing to control a simple ball. God knows where he was trying to turn.
What the two clips show is that Pogba is a talented player, but regularly suffers from lapses of concentration and fails to harness his obvious talent. This has been the case for most of his time at Old Trafford so far.
