A look at Paul Pogba’s disappointing display in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth

Add as preferred source on Google

There is a high level of expectation every time Paul Pogba takes to a football field due to the £89 million price tag on his head. Yet, against Bournemouth, the Frenchman failed to prove his worth.

Having started the game using the 4-2-3-1 formation, United created numerous opportunities in the first-half and should have been clear at the break.

One opportunity fell to Pogba, yet he wasn’t able to take his chance. The Frenchman sped away and latched onto a through ball from Luke Shaw. United’s record signing went one-on-one with Arthur Boruc, but failed to steer the ball around the Polish goalkeeper.

Embed from Getty Images

Pogba’s day got worse after that as he failed to stamp his authority on the game. The Frenchman was often seen losing possession by holding on to the ball too long or misplacing a pass.

United’s formation arguably didn’t help Pogba, however. Over recent weeks, the 23-year-old has played on the left of a midfield three, yet against Bournemouth, Jose Mourinho decided to replace Ander Herrera for Wayne Rooney, who plays in the number 10 role.

Having to accommodate Rooney often caused Pogba to look out of place, as he wasn’t able to roam around due to his defensive responsibilities. The Frenchman has been impressive alongside Ander Herrera but with the Spaniard on the bench, he had little impact over the 90 minutes.

Embed from Getty Images

The switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 hindered Pogba and Mourinho will have noticed this, making it highly unlikely that he’ll use this set-up again.

Despite playing a full 90 minutes and creating four opportunities for the Red Devils – more than he did against Watford and Leicester in previous Premier League fixtures – the Frenchman ended the game with an 81% pass accuracy and only won 56% of the duels he was involved with.

Both of these stats were worse than what he achieved in the previous Premier League fixture against Watford. Pogba won 80% his duels and had an 88% pass accuracy against the Hornets.

Embed from Getty Images

Pogba’s shot accuracy also fell from 100% against Watford to a poor 67% against Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. The 23-year-old could have won the game for United late on, but scuffed his attempt wide.

Mourinho will be hoping this poor performance was just a blip in form for Pogba, yet, with an important tie against Rostov coming up, the Frenchman will have to focus fast and put on a better show than he did throughout the 1-1 draw against a struggling Bournemouth side.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Indolivescore ils.