How Manchester United brought Paul Pogba out of hiding vs. Chelsea

Manchester United reshuffled midfield and attack to bring Paul Pogba out of hiding during a 4-0 win over Chelsea.

Paul Pogba is an enduring enigma. He’s either a mercurial genius or a diva sure to undermine the structure and discipline of any team he inhabits.

It depends who you ask because the Frenchman poliarizes opinion more than any other player in the Premier League. The Manchester United man also happens to be the most naturally gifted playmaker in the division, a label he justified with two assists during Sunday’s 4-0 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Solving the Pogba problem is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dilemma this season. He’s trying to succeed where Jose Mourinho failed.

Based on how Solskjaer reshuffled United’s midfield and attack around Pogba against the Blues, he may just have found the perfect solution.

Key to Solskjaer’s grand design was to bring Pogba out of hiding. The approach rested on making him the leader in the middle, something enraged TV pundits in various countries believe the languid 26-year-old will never be.

Solskjaer found a way to coax the inner general out of Pogba. He did it by simply making the supporting cast younger.

Pogba was the senior man in the group sent out to combat Chelsea. He was surrouded by 22-year-old Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira, 23.

Their inexperience meant Pogba was forced to be a calming influence. Who’d have thought it?

Getting Pogba to stabilize the middle meant playing him deeper than he usually prefers. He wasn’t given license to float around as a nomadic No. 10, nor the luxury to saunter in the inside left channel.

Instead, Pogba was Solskjaer’s centrepiece. He was the quarterback who supplied the passes for United’s rapid forwards to chase.

The simple tactic translated into handsome rewards whenever Pogba’s vision and flair released Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial behind a bewildered Chelsea back four.

With a full view of the field, Pogba had the time and space to drop inch-perfect passes over the top and exploit the pace ahead of him. His first assist was a prime example:

Playing in a more withdrawn role also enabled Pogba to pick his moments when to break forward. His long stride and physical power meant Chelsea barely got near him once the former Juventus ace hit the high gears.

Pogba’s threat breaking from deep was best summed up by his contribution for United’s fourth goal, a debut strike for Daniel James:

This was Pogba taking hold of a big game and not letting go. In other words, the very thing he’s accused of usually failing to do.

Pogba had Chelsea in his palm because he wasn’t able to hide and look to others to drag United over the line. It’s often been the case in the past, when his laid-back style offered a poor contrast to the buccaneering energy of Ander Herrera.

Now Herrera has taken his tenacity to Paris Saint-Germain, Pogba has to show more desire. Similarly, his wanderlust is restrained whenever Nemanja Matic isn’t playing the holding role behind him, the Serb’s presence almost giving Pogba permission to go off-piste whenever the fancy takes him.

Playing a more clearly defined role brought out the best in Pogba. So did having the job of controlling possession to himself. There was no Fred or Juan Mata to pass the responsibility of controlling the ball to.

Instead, it was all on Pogba to key United’s potency on the break while McTominay and Pereira did the pressing and harassing ahead of him.

It also helped to have a roving and shape-shifting forward line to aim for. Martial and Rashford routinely rotated positions, with the latter starting wide but ultimately spending a good portion of his time through the middle.

Jesse Lingard’s penchant for dropping off the front also meant United shifted seamlessly between 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 tactical shapes. Such elaborate movement mirrored the variety of Pogba’s passing radar, enabling him to give full expression to his creative leanings.

Solskjaer has found a way to unlock ultimate Pogba. Keeping his best player performing at this level is the next challenge.

It might be easier than many suppose, with Pogba earning rave reviews for the way he’s responded to not getting a move to Real Madrid so far this summer:

https://twitter.com/5liveSport/status/1159539704892551169

Real may still come calling, but based on the way he dissected Chelsea, Pogba won’t go into hiding if he has to stay in the red half of Manchester. He might even enjoy his best season yet if Solskjaer sticks to this winning formula.