There is an entire strand of this Paul Pogba debate, it strikes me, that seems to have been entirely overlooked. As United’s record signing drifts in and out of the Manchester United first team, his every movement scrutinised for signs of nefarious intent, proxy slight or total warfare, perhaps there is a more prosaic explanation for all this. Perhaps Jose Mourinho just really, really likes Scott McTominay.
That, certainly, was the theory under examination here, as United held Sevilla to a dicey and occasionally tempestuous goalless draw in the Champions League last 16.
As things turned out, Pogba’s exile from the United first-team lasted exactly 16 minutes, as Ander Herrera’s early injury saw him introduced as a substitute. But more on him later. For on a tempestuous Andalucian night, United’s 21-year-old academy graduate stepped into a giant pair of boots and delivered a performance of beguiling anonymity.
Which is, of course, by no means a criticism. Beguiling anonymity is the very quality McTominay was picked to provide. Even the announcer at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan seemed to have trouble identifying him. (“Scott… McTominigh!” was his best effort.)
And for a player deployed in the very centre of the pitch, McTominay paradoxically did not so much run the game as run after it, run towards it, run around it, his every measured stride simply marking time until the next. He left no footprints, exuded no vapour trails. The YouTube highlights reel of McTominay’s performance here would consist solely of him running, set to something like Enya.
From the start his function was clear: to close down Sevilla’s midfield two of Ever Banega and Steven N’Zonzi, not by hacking them down or committing to the challenge, but simply by being there. He wasn’t really pivotal going forward or going back. In short, he simply was, and for a manager whose foremost demand from a midfield in these games is presence - that they be where he wants them to be - McTominay did pretty much everything that was asked of him.
Scott McTominay says he remains 'concentrated and focused' after Manchester United's draw in Sevilla
What he didn’t do, really, was touch the ball. His job was neither to win the ball, nor to use it creatively, but simply to deter it, funnel it, parcel it off somewhere else. Even his sole shot of the game, a left-footed curler from 25 yards, felt measured and respectful: on target, testing goalkeeper Sergio Rico but never seriously challenging him.
The one time he tried a clever reverse ball to Juan Mata, he lost possession. The one time he tried to cross into a packed penalty area, late in the game, he failed to clear the first man.
Jose Mourinho's gamble largely paid off (Getty)
In one sense, it was a left-field choice: throw an untried rookie into your biggest fixture of the season ahead of your garlanded A-list star. On another, though, it was perhaps the ultimate Mourinho selection. The arrival of Alexis Sanchez has hastened the evolution of this United team as one that likes to attack directly, dynamically, rather than building play through midfield. Throw in Mourinho’s natural instinct in these European away games to stifle and thwart, to hang in there rather than try to kill the tie off, and McTominay’s selection makes perfect sense.
“You ask three questions, three about Pogba, don't you have any other questions?” Mourinho snapped angrily at BT Sport’s interviewer ahead of the game. And above all, you suspect that what he likes most about McTominay is that he is everything Pogba is not: unheralded, unstarry, anonymous. There is also, surely, a part of him that relishes upending his popular caricature as a chequebook manager by picking a home-grown rookie over an £89m marquee signing with his own welcome hashtag.
It didn't take long for Paul Pogba to make an appearance (Getty)
Of course, even with the best will in the world, you could never seriously argue that McTominay has half the talent of Pogba. Yet in a United side full of players who like to try things, perhaps there is a certain worth - a certain wisdom, even - in having a player who tries absolutely nothing.
You’d probably struggle to remember a thing he did all night, but for 90 minutes, McTominay - or was it McTominigh? - was there. And with 90 minutes remaining, so are United.
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Watch De Gea's heroics against Sevilla
David De Gea was once again a shining light for Manchester United on Wednesday, as he recorded his 19th clean sheet of the season for the Reds in the goalless draw against Sevilla.
United’s no.1 pulled off a total of eight saves in the Champions League last-16 first leg, which is the most by a Reds custodian in the competition since Edwin van der Sar made the same number in the 2011 final against Barcelona.
The best of his stops at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium was an incredible point-blank stop from Luis Muriel in first-half stoppage time to keep the hosts at bay, and Sevilla ultimately failed to score at home in the Champions League for the very first time.
"It was a good moment and a good save, of course, especially because of the moment in the game - the last minute of the first half," David told MUTV after the game. "It was important we didn't concede a goal. We defended well. I think they had control of the game, but the result is open."
In the Champions League this season, De Gea has kept out 95.5 per cent of the shots he has faced, which is more than any other keeper in the competition with 10 or more saves to their name. Wednesday's clean sheet was his sixth in his last eight games in Europe.
Victor Lindelof, whose solid display also contributed to the shut-out, said: "David made some good saves and he's the best goalkeeper in the world, so we're very happy to have him. I don't know what more to say about him other than he's fantastic.
"It gives us confidence to know he's behind us - he speaks a lot, pushes us from behind and gives us a lot of calmness, so it's good."
Watch the best bits of De Gea's performance against Sevilla in the video above.
Keputusan manajer Jose Mourinho tidak memainkan Paul Pogba sejak menit pertama membuat Manchester United kehilangan kreativitas di lini tengah. The Red Devils pun kesulitan untuk mengembangkan permainan mereka tanpa gelandang asal Prancis itu.
Pogba baru dimasukan Mourinho pada menit ke-17 untuk menggantikan posisi Ander Herrera yang mengalami cedera hamstring. Kehadiran pemain berusia 24 tahun itu perlahan membuat tim tamu lebih solid di lini tengah.
Pogba mampu menjalin kerja sama yang cukup baik dengan Scott McTominay dan Nemanja Matic di lini tengah walau Manchester United kesulitan meredam tekanan tuan rumah sepanjang pertandingan. Terbukti, penguasaan bola tim tamu meningkat dengan masuknya Pogba.
Berdasarkan data Whoscored, Pogba merupakan pemain dengan rating tertinggi kedua setelah David De Gea yang melakukan delapan penyelamatan sepanjang pertandingan. Mantan pemain Juventus itu juga memiliki akurasi umpan mencapai 90 persen dan lima kali melakukan dribel sukses.
"Menurut saya, masuknya Pogba berpengaruh besar terhadap penguasaan bola kami. Saya juga senang dengan permainan Nemanja Matic. Menurut saya, gelandang kami menguasai bola dengan baik dan Pogba berkontribusi di dalamnya," ucap Mourinho.
