Pogba Second Debut for Manchester United Under the Microscope

Sam ADEYEMI
After leaving the Old Trafford outfit for just a compensation fee in 2012, he returned back to the club for a world-record fee in 2016 and made his debut in the second premier league game of the season.Let's evaluate the performance of the Guinean-French on his homecoming debut for the Red Devils.

Paul Labile Pogba, the France international of Guinean descent left a positive impression on his second debut for the Red Devils which was exactly 1616 days after his last game for the club during his first spell. He was instrumental as Manchester United cruised to a 2-0 win - courtesy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace - over Southampton despite making a slightly shaky start to his second career for the team.

 
When the €105m paid to Juventus for his service comes to mind, you are most likely not going to agree with coach Jose Mourinho who had suggested ahead of the game that the 23-year-old was unlikely to feature for the full 90 minutes, but the former Juventus star nonetheless remained on the pitch right until the referee blew the final whistle. Pogba, who did receive a warm welcome on his comeback had every reason to be satisfied with his contribution in his "homecoming" debut as he impressed everyone with his sublime passes, energetic display and vital interceptions.

He grew into the game after being a bit nervous in the early minutes by giving the ball away which resulted into Southampton having their first test of the United back-line. But he did had his first shot and only shot on target after 13 minutes, an attempt from the corner of the penalty area into the arms of Fraser Forster, before creating a chance for Ibrahimovic at the half-hour mark with a chipped pass that was headed on by Juan Mata.

He continued to be heavily involved as he made a number of good runs from midfield and could perhaps have scored when he headed over the bar following a cross from the lively Juan Mata, he continued in search of his debut goal as he tried his luck a few more times. There would not be a goal in the end, but Mourinho will have been pleased with what he saw as Pogba stood out in a number of areas.

The 23yr-old Frenchman who have only had just a week training with the team showed his class in the game, he had 104 touches - the most touches in the game of all United Players, 5 interceptions, 4 shots with 1 on target, 2 key passes, 12 dribbles and also did covered 11.3km in the game. Also to highlight more on his dynamism and versatility, he went into challenge on 20 different occasions and won back the possession 13 good times.

He did had his downside in the game, he might have made more passes than anyone but his passing accuracy of 83.1 per cent is not among the top 5 for United. Additionally, he made the most interceptions, but also lost the ball 22 times, more often than any one else in a Red Devils jersey.

So many pundits did praised his performance after the game and in the words of former United captain, Ryan Giggs - "I think the biggest compliment I can give him is that I was watching that game and I wasn't thinking of £89m. I was just thinking of a player enjoying himself and trying things and expressing himself as the game went on. Yes sometimes things won't come off, but he's trying things and he's releasing himself."

In summary, Pogba enjoyed an amazing start to the second part of his Manchester United career, and hopefully he will help bring back glory to the "Theatre of Dreams".