Analysis of Paul Pogba’s dominant midfield display for Manchester United against West Ham

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When the signing of Nemanja Matic was announced at Manchester United, many expected it to free up Paul Pogba to play in a more advanced and free midfield role. Some went as far as to say that it would unleash the Frenchman. If their season opener against West Ham was anything to go by, they were spot on.

Only Matic had more touches than Pogba and together the pair bossed the midfield. Up against experienced opposition in the likes of Mark Noble, there was no doubting who won the battle in the middle of the park.

Despite not being particularly challenged by a lacklustre display from the visitors, the duo worked well together. Matic occupied himself with the more defensive responsibilities, whilst Pogba roamed forward. Pogba enjoyed finding space in attack and treated the role like an advanced playmaker role.

The number six found gaps in midfield and then looked to play through balls to split the defence, making three in total in addition to several longer balls which he played from deep.

At other times, Pogba looked to get on the ball and drive forward himself. In those instances, as with his injury time goal, he was not afraid to be direct and use his pace and power to shrug off challenges from the West Ham midfield and defence. With six dribbles, he ended them with shots on three occasions. Fortunately, the last of those saw the ball nestle in the corner of the net with a helpless Joe Hart only able to watch the ball sail past him.

Pogba and Matic will face more challenging fixtures and opposition this season. When part of a midfield pairing, rather than in front of Matic and Ander Herrera, for example, Pogba would not usually be afforded such freedom. However, his ability to do so against inferior opposition was a key part of his game which was missing in 2016/17 and saw United pick up one point, rather than three, on several occasions. It may be the case that this year is Pogba’s year after all.