If the win at Bournemouth was a sign of things to come from Manchester United then they have surely followed the win with a prolific performance against Southampton. It was Mourinho’s first game in charge at home and he wasn’t shying of holding back his new signing Paul Pogba.
The lineup was midfield oriented with Fellaini, Pogba, Mata and Rooney controlling the center and peripherals respectively. The spear head was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored twice, once from a Wayne Rooney’s cross and again from the spot kick.
Pogba showed no signs of new club nerves as he was up and running from the get go. The French had 71 passes, 103 touches, 4 shots and won 20 duels. Mourinho praised the £89m world record signing and said that the French international had such an ego and personality.
Pogba’s first touch almost led to a Saints goal however he shrugged it off to continue with the game.
“It just shows the personality of the player. His first match, his first touch was a bad one and led to a counter-attack and a free-kick and an opportunity for the opponent but he was not affected. The boy is fantastic.” – said Mourinho
“He could have played 30 minutes more, he could have played extra-time, no problem,” added Mourinho.
Pogba had earlier stated that it was the right time to return to a club that had nurtured him during his youth days.
“The first ball, I lost it, but got used to it. After that I felt better, touched the ball and played with the team.”
“We dream big. United are a big club. I know we will do big things this season.” – Pogba.
It wasn’t all about Pogba however, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in the thick of things as he scored twice to take his tally to three goals from only two games.
It wasn’t a flawless performance however, United lost possession in the midfield often and were caught on the counter. These counter attacking moves provided the Saints some good chances (better than United had all night) which Tadic and Davis put wide numerous times.
Mourinho in his very first press conference had announced that he wants to be number one. He wants to win all four trophies, an objective that his predecessors had lacked. It did seem like the United of old.
