[ad_1]
Paul Pogba admits that Manchester United are still not on the same level as Premier League champions Liverpool before the clash at the top of the table at Anfield on Super sunday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sits at the top of the table, three points ahead of his former current rivals heading into the match, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports (kickoff at 4.30pm), having won nine of the last 11 matches .
Although Pogba says his team may win their first Premier League trophy since 2013, the France midfielder believes his title credentials will be put to the test on Sunday.
Sunday, January 17 4:00 pm
Start 4:30 pm
Speaking exclusively to Sky sportsPogba said: “We have improved a lot, we keep improving but we still have a very young team.”
“Obviously, we cannot say that now we are at the same level as them because they won the Premier League and they are still winning, so the day we win is when we say we are at the same level.
“If you want to be the best you have to beat the best. We want to beat the Premier League winners.
I can’t really say that [this is the best Man Utd team I’ve been part of]. I think the last time Man Utd was the first in this time was Sir Alex Ferguson’s time. Then you can say that there has been an improvement.
“We know how well they have been playing the last few years. We know their quality and how they play. It has always been a tough game. We know how difficult it will be and we just have to focus and try to stay on top.
“I think we can win it if we keep our focus, but there are many teams that can win it, we are not there yet, we are still very far away.”
United again at the top – ‘That’s why I came here’
Manchester United players celebrate Paul Pogba’s win over Burnley
United lead the Premier League with 17 games for the first time since the 2012/13 title season with Sir Alex Ferguson, and Pogba enjoys the challenge of trying to stay there.
“That’s why I came here,” he added. “That’s why I came back here. It was to go and win.
“Obviously when you come you want to win right away. But things happen. You try to build, and sometimes things happen that you didn’t expect, but it’s for good reason. Maybe this year we can win, who knows? It made us improve, get to know ourselves. , gain more experience, then everything happened for a reason.
“In my head, you always want to win the first year, the second and the third year, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
“There are teams that have also been great, our neighbors have been great, everyone is building teams, buying top-level players, so obviously this league is the best league in the world, and you know it won’t be easy.”
Can Man Utd take the next step?
The loss earlier this month to rivals Manchester City in the last four of the Carabao Cup saw Manchester United lose a fourth semi-final to Solskjaer.
They lost all three of the semi-finals they reached last season and it was a curse that they struck again at Old Trafford against City, with suggestions that it is turning into a mental block for Solskjaer and his team.
It is not psychological [losing in semi-finals]. Sometimes you meet good teams in the semi-finals and we just didn’t have enough. We probably met the best team in England right now and for me, we just didn’t have enough today.
When asked how a team takes the next step, Pogba said: “Always wanting more. Always focus on the next game, the most important one. Always the next game, the next game. If you win 3-0, or lose 1 – 0, it’s the next game. Stay focused, keep the mindset, keep your head strong and stay calm.
“Obviously confident that you’re going to do it. That’s how I see it. You’re not a champion until you get the trophy, so you have to move on.”
Subscribe to the Pitch to Post Podcast at Apple | Spotify | Castbox | Spreaker
Pogba: ‘I’ve been feeling good’
United’s rise to the top of the Premier League has coincided with Pogba’s return to form
The 27-year-old capped another influential performance with the winner at Turf Moor on Tuesday when his deflected shot saw Solskjaer’s team finally unlock Burnley’s defense in the second half.
He said: “I’ve been feeling really good, myself, physically and mentally too. And I’ve been playing, and when you play you recover.
“It makes a big difference when you start one game and don’t play the other, or if you don’t play some games.
“The team always helps the players to be in good shape, that’s why the team has been playing very well, helping me and trusting me, with the squad as well.
“So I just have to focus on myself and do my best on the field. On the left, the right, the center, the striker, the defender, wherever I am on the field I give my best, that is. all I can do for my team. ” . “
3:07
FREE TO SEE: Highlights from Manchester United’s win over Burnley
‘I hate being in the bank’
Paul pogba
Despite his recent improvement in form, Pogba has struggled to maintain consistency since returning to United from Juventus in 2016.
At the start of the season, he struggled to stay fit and fit, which led to him having to settle for a spot on United’s bench most of the time, and it wasn’t a feeling the midfielder enjoyed.
“I hate being on the bench, I don’t like it,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that other players don’t deserve to play, just me, I don’t like it.
“I am a winner, I just want to play football. I want to help my team, and when I’m on the bench and I don’t go in, I feel like I can’t help my teammates, so I feel bad, I don’t like it.”
4:03
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Paul Pogba put on a man of the match performance to help Manchester United beat Burnley 1-0 in the Premier League.
So how difficult was it to be out of Solskjaer’s starting lineup for much of the first part of this season?
“It was difficult, it was strange,” Pogba added.
“Last year was a difficult season for me, with the injury, where people don’t really know, playing with the injury, with the double fracture and trying to do my best for the team as well.
“Going back is always strange, it’s like having a new ankle when you have surgery like this one. I tried to go back as best as possible. So obviously I got Covid, and the form was not the best, and the results with the team were not the best for all of us, and we’re getting back to good form. The players who are playing in my position have done very well: other midfielders Fred, Nemanja (Matic), Scott (McTominay) have been doing well.
“Where we are is because of all of them, all of us. We are at the top of the league right now, and I’m happy about that now. I have to think about the team, and not about myself. Sometimes it’s difficult.” ! “
1:52
Jamie Redknapp said Paul Pogba ran the show for Manchester Utd and overshadowed Bruno Fernandes in their 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.
A ‘dark’ 12 months …
Pogba continues to reflect on what has been a difficult 12 months, not only for him personally, but also for the world in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Frenchman admitted some “dark” moments during the year, but has tried to bring out the positives from what has been a truly difficult situation for everyone.
“It has been 12 difficult months for the world,” he said.
“It has been very difficult. But it depends on how you take it, do you take it as if you are going to depression, are you sad, or do you take it as a lesson, a push? OK, it has been difficult, It has been dark, but behind the darkness is always light.
“We learn from it, we gain experience.”
And he added: “Sometimes you don’t get injured, everything is nice, you play your football, and sometimes you don’t see how lucky you are. You are very lucky to play football, but when you’re injured, and you can’t walk, it’s difficult to sleep, find a position to sleep, it is difficult not to do what you love, play football and be with your teammates, so you think about the important thing.
“Soccer is important, but your health is more important than soccer. You learn that. You think about the world, many things. Bad things can happen, but always after something bad there is a good thought. I am a Believer. Just follow, keep smiling, keep joking.
“For this confinement, for many people it was a nightmare for everyone, not being able to be free. But on my way, I took it as a lesson – it was good because I could be with my family for a long time and as a soccer player, you travel a lot, sometimes you don’t see your children grow up.
“When you have children, you want to see them grow every day. So it was good to grow up and be with them full time. So, I try to take this darkness and change it with light.”
‘I will always be myself’; ‘Critics push me’
Finally, a lot of words, positive and negative, have been spoken about Pogba since his return to the Premier League by both experts and football fans.
So how does Pogba respond to the noise surrounding his career?
“I’m always happy,” he said. “When you play football, people are going to speak and share their opinion, people are going to say what they think because they are allowed.
“But it doesn’t change the way I work, it doesn’t change the way I am myself. I will always be myself.
0:53
Gary Neville said the celebration of Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly was something like Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince.
“I won’t change, this is me, I can’t change. Like it or not, this is me, this is Paul, this is how I grew up and how I am. I won’t change for anything.
“People will like me, people will not like me, and I will always think of people who like me, who I make smile, what I make happy, what I make improve, who learn something. I prefer to think about those people.
“And people who don’t like me, or don’t like my haircut or things like that, or when I don’t play well, or if I’m overrated, that doesn’t matter. It’s your opinion, and follow that, because you make me wanting to work even harder, and you make the person change their mind.
“So it’s good, it makes me work even harder, so thank you, I always appreciate you!”
Can Paul Pogba inspire Manchester United to victory at Anfield? Watch Liverpool vs Manchester United on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event starting at 4pm on Super Sunday; start at 4.30 pm
[ad_2]
