In Manchester United's loss against City, Paul Pogba provided his ninth Premier League assist of the season.
Pogba's assist was his second since returning from injury, but it wasn't enough to save United from a thrashing at The Etihad.
Getty Images/Simon Stacpoole/Offside
Pogba had set up Jadon Sancho's goal, which had brought the game back to a draw. United went on to lose the game by a score of 4-1.
Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United
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With the score at 2-1, Pogba was replaced by Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as part of a double substitution that also included Anthony Elanga.
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Garth Crooks, a BBC commentator, named three City players for his team of the week column, and opted to criticize Pogba as well. In a brutal way.
"Great games deserve big players," Crooks wrote, "but I was frightened by Paul Pogba's weak performance in this one." If there was ever a fixture designed for him, this was it — and he let it pass him by."
It's unjust to single out Pogba.
Several United players went missing during the game, particularly in the second half. However, Pogba only played 15 minutes after halftime, and the team deteriorated significantly without him.
In just half an hour on the pitch, his replacement, Jesse Lingard, managed an abysmal two touches. Crooks didn't say anything about him.
Pogba, as expected, takes the brunt of the criticism due to his exorbitant price tag. Since his arrival at the club in 2016, it's been the same tale.
Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United
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Pogba may not be the answer to United's problems; in fact, you could argue that he is part of the problem, and the club will benefit from a clean slate when he leaves this summer.
On Sunday, though, there were far worse players on display, with both Fred and Scott McTominay, as well as United's entire defense, struggling. Pogba really contributed something beneficial to the game, and he wasn't even on the field for United's worst stretch.
Of course, Pogba wasn't ideal. He didn't have any shots or even win a tackle, so the assist was his only chance. Some of the problems stemmed from a misunderstanding about where he and Bruno Fernandes were playing and the method United was employing. Whatever the case may have been, things got a lot worse once the Frenchman was removed.
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