Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is taking the flak for the defeat to Liverpool, and rightly so. The 5-0 defeat could and arguably should cost him his job.
But the players are not blameless either. As we noted, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are two players who deserve to be dropped.
One player who won’t play the next game is Paul Pogba, who is going to be suspended for the next three games.
Pogba was sent off against Liverpool 13 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute, following a mistimed tackle on Naby Keita.
Pogba was subject of heavy criticism in a column from Henry Winter in The Times.
Winter wrote: “Paul Pogba’s reaction to starting on the bench, then coming on and nailing Naby Keita with a reckless challenge within 15 minutes seemed almost an act of mutiny towards Solskjaer
“There is a reason that Solskjaer did not start Pogba in United’s biggest game of the season — he couldn’t trust him. During his abysmal cameo, Pogba even managed to lose the ball for Liverpool’s fifth goal.”
He also branded Pogba ‘selfish’ and ‘out of control’, having argued that Pogba’s tackle showed a lack of regard for his teammates and manager.
Now time to reflect
Pogba won’t play another Premier League game until the match with Chelsea on November 28, as he is serving a three game ban.
There were no complaints from United fans that Pogba was sent off, nor regarding his suspension.
That shows how low he has sunk since his stunning game of the season against Leeds.
In five years since he signed, Pogba has shown an inability to control a Premier League midfielder against top sides.
He also is not one of United’s best front three, and so fitting him in becomes a challenge which two Red Devils bosses have struggled with.
With Solskjaer on the brink, Pogba could soon be another manager’s problem to deal with.
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