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Paul Pogba caught asking Luke Shaw to dive in the match against Aston Villa
An article by Express mentions that Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba asked left-back Luke Shaw to take a dive in the 2-1 win against Aston Villa.
United started the match slowly but took the lead just 5 minutes before half-time through Anthony Martial. Bertrand Traore equalized around the hour mark before the incident involving the Manchester United duo occurred.
A video emerged of Luke Shaw bursting into the box but losing the ball for a Villa goal kick under pressure from Matty Cash. Paul Pogba then gestured the English left-back to go down when he felt contact. (h/t Express)
Shortly afterwards, United actually did win a penalty. And ironically, it was the Frenchman who won it after going down in a dubious manner.
While there was a hint of contact from Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith accused the former Juventus midfielder of ‘tripping’ himself to win the spot-kick.
“I’ve just gone in and seen it back and I think he’s just tripped himself up.”
All that matters is the win
The manager thought that the incident looked like a penalty in real-time, but there was enough in it to send the referee to the TV screen on the sideline.
Nevertheless, Bruno Fernandes, as he does, dispatched the penalty and gave United the lead. The Red Devils hung on to secure a massive which now sees them go level on points with league leaders Liverpool.
While much has been made of Pogba’s gesture to Shaw, it is not an uncommon practice for players to go down easily nowadays. Players often have to exaggerate contact in order to make the referee notice the offence.
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The team and the fans, however, probably couldn’t care less about this. The win sees United’s undefeated run in the league extend to 10.
