Paul Pogba is a real problem. Jose Mourinho clearly has an issue with his attitude and that discord is going to divide the dressing room.
Feuds like this don’t go away, this is a wound that won’t heal in a hurry. Pogba and Mourinho both have big egos, but one of them is going to have to relent for the good of the club.
If I was Jose, I’d say to Pogba, ‘You’re at a fantastic club: get your head down and work for your place’. If he can’t get into United’s team, he’s not going to make Barcelona or Real Madrid’s starting eleven.
He’s a player who thrives when he feels trusted — so Mourinho has not helped his confidence by switching him in and out of the side — but it’s time he stamps his mark on this team. At Juventus, he had the experience of Andrea Pirlo to guide him, but he needs to take charge of this United team.
Paul Pogba was left out of the Manchester United starting XI for Wednesday’s game at Sevilla
But he was introduced into the action as a 17th-minute sub when he replaced Ander Herrera
Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho gave Pogba some instructions before sending him on
Pogba touched the ball 65 times — more than any other United player except Nemanja Matic
Just let McTominay play
It’s great to see a young British player starting a Champions League knockout game, but Scott McTominay has been thrust into the eye of the storm.
My fear is, because of his position, he will be compared to Pogba. That’s not fair. Pogba is a £89million midfielder and McTominay has only started nine games in his career.
He was impressive against Sevilla in an intimidating atmosphere.
Scott McTominay, 21, was impressive against Sevilla but fans should not compare him to Pogba
McTominay held his own in the testing environment of the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium
De Gea to the rescue again
How many times has David De Gea done this? That save at the end of the first half from Luis Muriel was outstanding.
He’s right up there alongside Manuel Neuer as the best keeper in the world. United’s defence top the clean-sheet charts in the Premier League this season with 15, but that’s down to De Gea.
The defence gets praised for the clean sheets but it’s De Gea who’s stopping the goals.
United’s superb Spanish goalkeeper, David de Gea, saved his side — quite literally — yet again
De Gea pulled off a remarkable reaction stop to deny Sevilla forward Luis Muriel in the first half
Sevilla will be real threat
In the 2-2 draw at Liverpool in the group stage, Sevilla showed how much of a goalscoring threat they can be away from home. They’ve scored nine goals in their last five away from home.
Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku should be able to play together, maybe even as a classic little and large partnership, but they haven’t clicked yet. If Sevilla stay true to form and score at Old Trafford, United will need a big performance from those two to go through.
Sevilla will be dangerous at Old Trafford with stars like Joaquin Correa, who scored at Anfield
United will hope big-money striker Romelu Lukaku is able to do the business in the second leg