No smilies as hand of Pogba proves costly

In a week in which Paul Pogba launched his own emoji it took only 27 minutes for internet wags to add a few tears to the icon — and although Zlatan Ibrahimovic has wiped some of them away this result didn’t really leave either side with a smiley face.

A draw is never a completely unsatisfactory result in a United-Liverpool derby; but nevertheless you suspect both sets of players will consider this a missed opportunity in terms of the bigger picture as they bid to catch those above them in the table.

For Liverpool at least there is the satisfaction of ending United’s recent good run, while for United a late goal from Ibrahimovic means they ended the game on a high. But both teams left the field with one eye on what they had lost — whether that was an opportunity to keep pace with leaders Chelsea or, in the home team’s case, a chance to draw level with rivals Manchester City having been 10 points behind them as recently as December 1.

However, it could have been different if poor old Pogba had got out of bed on the other side.

The midfielder may be the king of social media and the focus for United’s global marketing drive but that didn’t stop him having a bad day at the office and embarrassing the digital whizz kids behind his latest reinvention.

On an occasion when Jose Mourinho’s side simply couldn’t lose, their talismanic midfielder turned out to be the team’s Achilles heel rather than the hero he had been billed as.

The list of Pogba’s indiscretions was a long one — a series of fluffed attempts to mark Dejan Lovren at corners, a missed chance at 0-0, and a wrestling match with Jordan Henderson he was lucky to get away win amongst them. But most of all, of course, was the comical handball which handed Liverpool the opening goal from the penalty spot.

Pogba, perhaps a strange choice to mark Lovren (arguably Liverpool’s most dangerous man at set pieces), got himself in all kinds of trouble as he lost sight of both ball and man before, with his back to the action, managing to get both hands on the ball as he attempted to head it.

The internet, at least the part of it without an affiliation to Old Trafford, laughed in unison. Tears appeared on Pogba’s emoji and others compared his bizarre jumping to style to ‘dabbing’ — a dance move, with its origins in the hip-hop world, in which the dancer simultaneously drops his head while raising an arm and elbow. The effect is rather like someone sneezing — and on this occasion it was United’s record signing who was catching cold.

To attribute this result to one man, however, would be harsh because Liverpool worked hard collectively to keep Pogba quiet while goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, too, deserves praise for a series of fine saves that kept his side ahead for so long — especially important in a year in which the Belgian has had to work so hard to win back his place from Loris Karius amid accusations Liverpool cannot win a title without buying a new number one.

On this occasion it was easy to see why Jurgen Klopp has stuck by his man. One save from an Ibrhamovic free-kick, low to his left, was outstanding and Mignolet could take no blame for United’s equaliser which came after intense late pressure.

When you consider Philippe Coutinho also made an excellent contribution from the bench then perhaps Liverpool can be slightly happier with the result, a feeling emphasised by Ibrahimovic’s post-match analysis.

“We were not in the top of our game,” he admitted. “It was a hard fight and a hard game. We made too mistakes and didn’t feel comfortable with the pressure of the opponents. We did better in the second half but we would have liked to win, to close the gap even more.”

Ibrahimovic’s goal, his 19th of the season, came after United opted to be more direct in the second half and underlined just how important he is as Mourinho bids to create a new identity for his team. Fourteen goals in the Premier League, 13 in his last 13 games in all competitions; these are stats which few players in the history of the club can match and which strike fear into opposition defences.

There may be only one player in United’s team with his own emoji but no-one can be in any doubt that the man ahead of him is the real icon.

Without him, Liverpool would have been celebrating a major win. Instead, they leave Old Trafford partly satisfied, but having failed to persuade anyone they can catch Chelsea in the near future.

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