In the mid-week loss at Tottenham Hotspur, Paul Pogba was subbed off early, for non-injury reasons, for the first time since he returned to Manchester United. The midfielder had a very heated exchange with manager Jose Mourinho on the touchline, and the argument was broadcast in full view for the whole world to see.
Mourinho didn’t say anything about the altercation after the game, except to say that the change was made for tactical reasons. Today, in the home win over Huddersfield Town, Paul Pogba didn’t come on until the 65′.
It would appear to the outside observer that Pogba was being punished for something. Mourinho claims that is not the case.
“I change a few players and the intention was not to punish anyone because to punish anyone, I also need someone to punish me because we are a team and when we win, we win together and we lose together,” the United manager said on Saturday.
“I prefer to look at it in the beautiful way of a little kid that arrived here with his mum at nine years old for the first training session and 10 or 11 years later the kid is playing in a Manchester United shirt in an important match in the Premier League at home at Old Trafford,” he continued, as he explained why Scott McTominay received playing time instead.
“So I prefer to look at that perspective. Scott grew up with the game and he started a bit nervous and then he was fundamental for us in the way that he gave that desire to recover the ball and we could play.”
Mourinho then went on to extoll the virtues of Paul Pogba:
“Paul is a fantastic player. No doubt for me one of the most talented midfield players in the world but to sit on the bench one day is not the end of the world.
“So it was a decision to play the kid but Paul came on very, very well with a great attitude.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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