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DANNY MURPHY: Paul Pogba is a defensive problem for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer … Manchester United will continue to send goals if he and Bruno Fernandes continue as starters in the same lineup.
- Man United will continue to send goals with Pogba and Fernandes in the same lineup
- Neither is good enough on defense to play together in a three-man midfield
- The duo were repeatedly caught against Brighton in the dramatic 3-2 victory.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a big decision to make because Manchester United will keep sending goals if they keep naming Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the same lineup.
Excellent creative players that they are, neither is good enough on defense to play together in a three-man midfield.
That’s certainly the case against any of the Big Six and on Saturday they were repeatedly caught against Brighton.
Paul Pogba has become a defensive problem for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United
United will continue to send goals with Pogba and Fernandes in the same lineup
His shortcomings put Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw under enormous pressure as they were constantly caught between following Brighton’s full-backs and wide-spread forwards.
Compare that to Liverpool, where Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson can bomb forward whenever they want thanks to the skill of Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum covering from midfield.
It’s not laziness on the part of Bruno or Pogba, it’s just one aspect of their game that they’re defensively reactive rather than proactive. They simply do not detect or sense danger quickly enough. By the time they realize they need to go back, it is too late.
Pogba’s challenge to Aaron Connolly in the area was canceled but he was still exposed
Bruno gave away a penalty and let Solly March go for Brighton’s second goal.
Pogba’s challenge of Aaron Connolly in the area was overruled by VAR, correctly, but he was still behind the game and could be exposed.
I think it’s significant that United have signed Donny van de Beek from Ajax. He has more energy and is more of a true box-to-box player than Pogba or Bruno.
I think once you are fully integrated into the United setup you start with a more orthodox midfielder and that leaves room for the two glamorous players, unless you are facing a weaker team at Old Trafford without much of an attacking threat. .
In recent months, I have to say that Bruno has been more influential in an offensive sense than Pogba, so I don’t know where that leaves the Frenchman, who has been replaced in just over an hour in the two Premier League games of the United.
Of course, there is a caveat that Pogba tested positive for Covid in preparation for the season, so perhaps he is behind others in terms of physical condition. When he’s 100 percent, we’ve seen him win the World Cup alongside N’Golo Kante.
Right now it seems a long way off and Solskjaer will have a lot to think about as United have conceded five goals in total against Crystal Palace and Brighton.
They were lucky enough to win on Saturday as Brighton kept hitting the wood and the winning penalty came after the final whistle sounded.
