Paul Pogba played an instrumental part in France’s 3-0 win against Bulgaria on Tuesday night – and fans believe he should be given such creative freedom at club level.
The 28-year-old midfielder flourished in attacking areas for Didier Deschamps’ side, spraying passes to the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe throughout their final warm-up game ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
Pogba, who has been accused of a lack of consistency for Manchester United in the past, was clearly given license to push forward and express himself while N’Golo Kante mopped up in defensive areas. Just check out his highlights below.
Paul Pogba vs Bulgariapic.twitter.com/FD7nXiImcf
— PogbaXtra™ (@PogbaXtra) June 8, 2021
Deschamps’ decision to deploy Pogba in a more attacking role was a huge factor in France’s victory as goals from Antoine Griezmann and a late brace from substitute Olivier Giroud sealed an important win ahead of their opener against Germany.
In recent months, the Manchester United midfielder has played in a wide left role, with Fred, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes playing more centrally, but his display against Bulgaria suggests he is far more effective in pockets behind a striker.
Pogba is ridiculously good for France and I mean literally unplayable what do Man United do to this guy? Kante playing really well too man, what a midfield they have.
— Pys (@CFCPys) June 8, 2021
Pogba’s sublime performance against Yasen Petrov‘s side at the Stade de France left plenty of United fans in awe, with many comparing his performances for club and country.
This is what Pogba can do when you give him the freedom none of this deepest midfielder shit
— Moë🙌🏿⚽️ (@Moe_y11) June 8, 2021
No one brings out the best out of Paul Pogba like Ngolo Kante
— Chelsea Babe🇿🇦 (@Boitumelo_MB) June 8, 2021
Griezmann and Pogba, totally different players when they play for their country. What is it about France that makes them ball properly?
— Edmund 💉 (@EdmundOris) June 8, 2021
Griezmann and Pogba, totally different players when they play for their country. What is it about France that makes them ball properly?
— Edmund 💉 (@EdmundOris) June 8, 2021
Get Paul Pogba a proper DM and you’ll be entertained 💯 pic.twitter.com/TMdubXEQ6v
— Bivan (@bivanjr_) June 8, 2021
Also, Paul Pogba yet again showing why we need to keep hold of him by buying a quality player who can allow him to roam free 🤷♂️
— Dylan Ahmed (@DylanAhmed09) June 9, 2021
Ahead of France’s opener in Group F on Tuesday night, Pogba has warned his teammates not to get carried away as they go into the tournament as favourites.
“You can’t see yourself as being too beautiful,” he told TF1. “You shouldn’t see yourself as beautiful at all. I don’t want to get carried away too much because we’ve already been built up enough, I think.
“Of course it’s scary for other teams, but it can also be scary for us too. It can put pressure on us because of the team we have, that we feel that we’re guaranteed to win or even to always score three goals.
“People are going to expect all of this. But that’s not football. It’s the ego that kills you.
“In this squad, there is none. There is not one person above another.”