Manchester United might be wondering which Paul Pogba is going to turn up today when struggling West Bromwich Albion visit Old Trafford in the Premier League.
Will it be the player who has disappointed for much of the season, or the one who lived up to his £89 million (US$127 million) price tag for once with a match-changing second-half display against Manchester City last weekend?
Pogba scored twice in three minutes at the Etihad Stadium as United turned a two-goal deficit into a 3-2 victory, and in doing so forced their rivals to wait a little longer to secure the Premier League title.
Photo: Reuters
Yet all that brilliance came after an opening 45 minutes that had been more typical of his club form this season; out of sorts, misplacing passes and lacking in verve.
When he is good, he is among the very best attacking midfielders in the world, but United have seen that form all too rarely of late.
Pogba’s working relationship with Jose Mourinho has been picked over repeatedly in recent months for clues.
The United manager has rejected the idea that the midfielder is still suffering the effects of a hamstring injury picked up in September last year, which kept him out for two months.
So if the problem is not physical, the implication is that it must be psychological.
On that front, Mourinho dismissed as “lies” reports in February that the French star wanted to leave United.
However, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola then claimed last week that Pogba had been offered to his club in January by agent Mino Raiola.
Whatever actually happened there, it did nothing to suggest that all was harmonious between Pogba and United.
France coach Didier Deschamps had already come to a similar conclusion, saying at the end of last month that he did not believe the former Juventus player was happy at Old Trafford.
Days after Deschamps made those comments, Pogba scored a spectacular free-kick and set up a goal for Kylian Mbappe, as France beat Russia 3-1 in a friendly.
It was another sign of just what the midfielder can do when he is in the right mood.
“He annoys me, because I know he’s capable of a hundred times more,” said Christophe Dugarry, a striker in France’s 1998 World Cup-winning side.
Dugarry called Pogba an “alien genius,” but one who was too occupied with marketing himself on social media.
Mourinho could certainly be forgiven for wondering what might have been this season had Pogba shown any kind of consistency.
He had gone 21 club games without a goal before his two against Manchester City; had he been a little more prolific, then perhaps the Premier League title race would have been significantly closer.
As it is, there is only realistically second place to play for now.
Having shone against the division’s top team last weekend, Pogba should find it a stroll against bottom club Albion today, but Mourinho has learned to take nothing for granted.
He is keen to focus on ensuring that last weekend’s superb comeback against City does not curdle into complacency against West Brom.
“We have come from a big result,” he said. “During the week, I was trying to fight that result by working well and hard and making the players understand that it is not enough just to deserve second. We need the points.”
Meanwhile, West Brom have gone 10 games without a win now and another defeat at Old Trafford could see them relegated this weekend, depending on results elsewhere.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB