Manchester United got something today that they have needed all season long- a very big result at home. United finally got a home victory in which the team started fast out of the gate. Sure, it came against the league’s absolute bottom side in Fulham, but after what happened versus Crystal Palace and Southampton, they’ll take it.
United scored three first half goals (Ashley Young 13′, Juan Mata 28′, Romelu Lukaku 42′) and went on to cruise to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Craven Cottagers. And United did it without star midfielder Paul Pogba, who was an unused substitute once again.
He’s now been left out of three of the last four games.
After the match, United manager Jose Mourinho hailed the team “solidarity.” When asked about the absence of Paul Pogba, Mourinho implied that the Frenchman hasn’t embraced the team mentality.
“The players have shown they can be a better team than they are. When there is solidarity in the team, everyone giving their maximum, you attract more positive things,” Mourinho said at his post match news conference.
Mourinho was then asked what Pogba must do to get back into the team.
“He has to play with the same mentality as the team is playing,” Mourinho responded. “Paul can be a fantastic player, he has the potential to be a fantastic player.
“Against Valencia (in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night) he is going to start and have a fantastic football game to play and to show everybody how good he is.”
Expect a lot of changes beyond Pogba to the lineup in midweek. Starting XI shuffling has been a theme all season long.
https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/1071407619288559621
United will enter the European fixture having already qualified for the knockout round. As for the remarks Mourinho made about Pogba, well, the two men haven’t exactly gotten along famously during their time together at Old Trafford, so this isn’t a big shock.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.