No matter what Jose Mourinho says about his relationship with Paul Pogba, perception is reality for many Premier League fans, and Pogba fractured that perception even further after Manchester United drew 1-1 at Old Trafford.
Mourinho’s tactics - and in particular, his deployment of Pogba - has been criticized since he began at Manchester United for being too defensive and too static. That same criticism eventually led to a split between the club and Mourinho’s predecessor Louis van Gaal, and it threatens to turn the club against Mourinho as well.
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Following the match on Saturday, Pogba came after the way Manchester United plays at home, which has led to the draw with Wolves plus a loss to Tottenham earlier this season.
“When we are at home we should attack, attack, attack. That’s Old Trafford,” said Pogba on Saturday after the Wolves match. “We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. We are here to attack. I think teams are scared when they see Manchester United attacking and attacking. That was our mistake.”
The Frenchman did take responsibility, saying the team needs to execute better on the field, but then turned it back on the predetermined style of play. “Maybe the attitude should be better and we should play better because, again, we are at Old Trafford and we should just attack and press like we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal last season. When we play like this it’s easier for us.”
Pogba would not say much more, but made it known why he wouldn’t elaborate, and it only served to douse the flames with gas. “Obviously we should show more options of playing but I cannot say that because I’m a player,” Pogba said. “That’s my way of thinking: we should move better, we should move more.”