Pranav Nair
Paul Pogba: Manchester United boss Solskjaer was right to take me off against Granada
According to The Sun, stand-in skipper Paul Pogba has backed Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to take him off against Granada.
Standing in for the suspended Harry Maguire, Pogba picked up an early yellow card for an elbow on Sanchez. He was once again in the thick of things and fouled Manchester City loanee, Yangel Herrera.
With the risk of him being sent off growing, Solskjaer had no option but to take off his star midfielder at half-time.
“I had to come off. This yellow card was unfortunate.”
While some may view such a decision as humiliating, Pogba has backed his manager for doing so. In fact, given the circumstances, it was a prudent call.
“There were some tackles, yellow cards, we had a bit of everything.”
The 28-year-old admits that the game was a physical affair with its fair share of challenges. While he does not believe his foul warranted a caution, he has taken it in his stride.
Targeted on purpose!
Pogba is under no illusions that the Granada players were targetting him on purpose to send him off. He believes Solskjaer too saw the same thing and made the decision to pull him out at the break
“I think that’s when the manager saw it as well that it’s better I come off before I get a red card and I can put my team in difficulties.”
Having Pogba sent off would have put a dampener on the mood on what was otherwise a good evening. Also with a healthy 3-0 advantage to boot, there was just no reason for Solskjaer to risk his star midfielder.
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An early strike from Edinson Cavani and an own goal by Jesus Vallejo ensured United enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win on the night. The Red Devils will next face AS Roma in the semifinals. Hopefully, we can finally put the last four curse behind us.
