PL 2018/19: Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City; 3 key battles that decided the game

Manchester United v Leicester City - Premier League
It fell to the unlikeliest of scorers to help Manchester United beat Leicester

#2 Paul Pogba vs Harry Maguire

Manchester United v Leicester City - Premier League
A world-class performance from the WC winner

Remember when the United fans were not sure if Pogba was good enough to play for them during the middle of last season? One World Cup later, it is surreal to see just how much the burlesque French midfielder has grown.

In the absence of Romelu Lukaku (rested owing to the WC activity), it was Pogba's turn to play the role of the tall target man who could hold up the ball. That was not all Pogba did, just as any good midfielder wouldn't. Pogba shifted in and out of the Regista role, from defending corners to taking penalties to moving into the spaces created by Rashford's rocket-fueled boots.

Harry Maguire, fresh from his heroics in Russia, might have matched Lukaku jump for jump, but against the superior pace of Rashford combined with Pogba's accurate balls over the top, the centre back did not have the most comfortable of nights.

He adapted to it by reducing his innate nature to go forward on his own, and it almost worked until Shaw's run caught everyone by surprise at the end.

The worrying thing about Pogba tonight was his petulant whining and screaming at the referee when things did not go his way, his exaggerated flailing of the arms will certainly not win him any fans. As of now, maybe it is the exhaustion but it is an issue that Mourinho will have to look into.

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Edited by Kishan Prasad
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