Paul Pogba pulls no punches as Man United flounder against Brighton
Jose Mourinho bit his lip, but Paul Pogba showed no such reserve as he delivered a damning assessment of Manchester United’s dismal display as they slumped to defeat at Brighton.
Outplayed and outfought, Mourinho’s side started this game badly and got progressively worse. Mourinho explained the defeat by pointing out the individual errors that allowed Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and a Pascal Gross penalty to establish the home side’s 3-1 advantage at half-time, suggesting it was for others to provide a deeper analysis. Pogba duly stepped up to the plate.
“They had more hunger than us,” said the United captain. “I put myself first, that my attitude wasn’t right enough. We made mistakes we shouldn’t make. We tried to push and push, we kept trying, but it was a bit too late.
“We were playing at home last week and that’s different. Different teams, different tactics. I know you cannot always play very very good. The attitude always has to be very good and we missed that.”
A disappointed @PaulPogba spoke to #MUTV after today's defeat, and believes #MUFC must stay positive ahead of our next match. #BHAMUN pic.twitter.com/25XAsaZirJ
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 19, 2018
Romelu Lukaku had halved Brighton’s lead before Gross added the third goal and Pogba penalty in added time gave the scoreline a more flattering look from United’s perspective. The France World Cup winner, though, made no attempt to divert attention away from the players’ failings.
“Today was a bad performance from all of us and it’s wrong we lose points today,” he added.
“We have to wake up for the next game and definitely not play like we did. I am someone very honest and we always play for the shirt and play for them and this is not the result that we wanted and not the result that they (the supporters wanted. They should be very mad today. We are very mad, everybody is very mad.”
It was a commendable response from the midfielder, but Mourinho must wish all of his players had shown similar desire earlier on the pitch. As it was, United left the Amex Stadium empty-handed for the second time having lost here in May and they could have no complaints.
Nor did it help that this game was scheduled after Manchester City devastating defeat of Huddersfield Town. Two games in and ready three points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
And all this after Mourinho had described his club’s near neighbours as lacking in class for permitting the filming of an access all areas documentary. The manager was absolutely correct that his side were undermined by individual errors, most notably from the hapless central defenders Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof.
Mourinho was left frustrated when the club failed to deliver him the centre-back he wanted during the transfer window, although it must be pointed out he sanctioned the signing of both these players who each cost around £30 million.
It wasn’t only the defenders who were off the pace but their mistakes proved the most costly. Lindelof found himself totally lost as Murray easily moved away from his marker to turn in Solly March’s low cross with a clever flick to give the home side.
Two minutes later it was Bailly’s turn, needlessly conceding a corner from which Pogba failed to track Duffy. Duffy missed the first opportunity but when the ball returned to his feet immediately afterwards, he finished with an impressive shot on the turn.
United responded with Lukaku heading home from Luke Shaw’s deselected shot in the 34th minute but Mourinho’s side never established any momentum and Bailly completed a miserable 45 minutes by bringing down Gross to concede the 43rd-minute penalty.
Asked how he can stop his players making such fundamental errors, Mourinho response was abrupt.
“I can’t answer your question,” he said. “In a very honest and pragmatic way, I cannot answer your question. I can say keep working and keep trying to improve is the only thing that I can do. I can’t do anything else.”
Perhaps the most alarming element of a miserable afternoon for United was the fact that the second half showing was arguably worse than the first. And that was after a team talk from the match, a switch in formation and the introduction of two substitutes, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
They never looked like closing the deficit and Pogba’s penalty, awarded after Marouane Fellaini went down under a challenge from Duffy, came too late to affect the outcome.
Ryan 7; Montoya 7, Duffy 8, Dunk 6 (Balogun 20, 7), Bong 7; Knockaert 7, Stephens 7, Propper 8, March 9; Gross 6 (Kayal 89), Murray 8 (Locadia 90).
Button, Bissouma, Jahanbaksh, Bernardo.
De Gea 6; Young 6, Bailly 3, Lindelof 4, Shaw 6; Fred 7, Pereira 4 (Lingard 46, 6), Pogba 5; Mata 5 (Rashford 46, 6), Lukaku 5, Martial 5 (Fellaini 59, 6).
Grant, Smalling, Herrera, McTominay.
K Friend 7
How does Mourinho fix his defensive problems?
After repeatedly pointing out his options in central defence are not good enough for a club with ambitions to overhaul Manchester City in the Premier League race, it’s hardly surprising Jose Mourinho finds himself with a group of defenders lacking in confidence.
Chris Smalling was on the bench and Phil Jones watched from the stands as Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof did a good job of clearing the path for the England pair to return to the side, but the evidence of recent seasons suggest they are equally capable of vulnerability.
Mourinho’s first job will be to repair the confidence of Bailly and Lindelof who, in fairness, were not helped by the lack of protection they received in front of them.
Bailly will be in no rush to thank Pogba for his floated ball to him on the edge of the area while he was under pressure. It’s too late to add to the squad, so Mourinho must build a team that recognises the limitations of his defenders.
It would also help if the attacking players were able to provide a cutting edge and allow the side to play on the front foot.
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