Paul Pogba: Manchester United’s hard work starts here | Football News

Paul Pogba has warned his Manchester United team-mates the arduous work this season is but to start and they’ll should be “smug” to remain high of the Premier League.

United have been indebted to a different second of brilliance from Pogba as his beautiful strike from exterior the world noticed off a spirited Fulham aspect as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s aspect reclaimed high spot within the Premier League with a 2-1 victory.

Solskjaer hailed the victory as “large” as United matched the club-record 17-game unbeaten league away run set by their treble-winning aspect of 1999.

However chatting with the membership’s official web site, Pogba warned: “It is by no means sufficient. We’re nonetheless removed from the trophy.

“It has been arduous to get right here, it may be even more durable to remain there.

“Be smug in the best way that ‘sure, we’re proud to be there and we need to keep there’, however we’ve got achieved nothing but so we have to preserve working.

“We’re proud of what’s taking place however we would like this to hold on. We would like this increasingly.

“If we expect ‘we received and we’ve got arrived’, that is when we’re going to drop.”

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Ole: Pogba can do all the things

Solskjaer was not shocked by the standard of the Frenchman’s winner and as an alternative selected to concentrate on the disciplined performances United are getting out of a match and firing Pogba.

“I am very proud of Paul’s efficiency,” he stated. “Generally impressed is a robust phrase, I do know what he can do.

“It was all about getting Paul match; operating match and match match. He performed central midfield, made some good runs into the field, made challenges regardless of getting an early yellow card, which is at all times harmful. However he stored his self-discipline and received tackles for us.

“He does all the things, we all know Paul can do kind of all the things that’s requested of a midfielder, now he’s placing all the weather collectively in the identical performances which is nice to see.”

Solskjaer added: “I want to say so [that this is the fittest and most focused Paul Pogba].

“He is having fun with his soccer, he is very glad mentally and bodily in excellent form. We all know all about his abilities, as we speak we determined to play him in midfield, and it was value it.”

What do the stats say?

Throughout the goalless draw with Liverpool, Gary Neville stated United’s success this season is usually pinned on the type of Bruno Fernandes, however advised it may effectively be decided by Pogba.

Quick ahead three days and Pogba proved the purpose, stepping up when the Portugal playmaker was off the boil with a shocking winner from vary within the win over Fulham – his second wonder-strike in three video games.

Each targets have come from exterior the field, which is already greater than he has scored from vary in a season since returning to the membership in 2016 and his non-penalty purpose ratio now matches his career-high of 0.25 per 90, final achieved in 2017/18.

What’s modified? Solskjaer has deployed Pogba as a part of the attacking three in one-third of his total game-time this time period – the best proportion for 3 campaigns – and he has additionally alternated in equal measure on the left and proper of the holding two.

In consequence, the France worldwide has lined swathes of the pitch and his heatmap for this season resembles an final box-to-box midfielder – with even higher spreads of motion in the direction of each the opposition and defensive bins.

Pogba now ranks second behind solely Harry Kane within the newest Energy Rankings chart – which is predicated on the earlier 5 league video games. If he have been to maintain that type and dovetail within the limelight with Fernandes, the pair may effectively carry and keep United’s shock title tilt.