‘He was completely out of the game’: Peter Schmeichel slams Paul Pogba’s display in Man United’s dire draw at Burnley – despite the Frenchman scoring – as club legend questions the desire of the team to win games
Peter Schmeichel described Paul Pogba as ‘completely out of the game’ despite the French midfielder scoring in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Burnley.
United dropped out of the Premier League top four following another disappointing result having taken the lead when Pogba scored in the 17th minute.
But after Jay Rodriguez scored to earn rock bottom Burnley a point, there was justifiable criticism of United’s inability to kill games off.
Paul Pogba celebrates scoring Manchester United’s goal at Burnley on Tuesday night – but Ralf Rangnick’s side were unable to kill off the contest and had to settle for a 1-1 draw
Rangnick was left praying for a winning goal that never materialised in the disappointing draw
That result, and West Ham’s win, saw United drop out of the top four in the Premier League
Pogba returned following three months out with a thigh injury in United’s FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough on Friday night and performed well.
But United legend Schmeichel was not at all impressed by the display he put in at Turf Moor.
United club legend Peter Schmeichel was critical of Pogba’s display despite the goal
‘I said before the game, Pogba played fantastic on Friday night. If Pogba plays like that we want to keep him, we desperately want to keep him,’ the Dane told Premier League Productions.
‘But he was completely out of the game today and you can’t have players doing that.
‘That’s not good enough for Man United. At Man United, you’ve got to have a very, very high low-level and at a minimum you’ve got to perform to that.
‘You’ve got to have this type of urgency and understanding of when you need to push forward to get the goal you need.
‘In the last 20 minutes, the way Man United played was all in the same tempo and all in the same pattern.
‘There were no pressure balls into Burnley’s box. There were no questions being asked.
‘Having played in the team, having understood what was required of you, that’s one of the more disappointing things for me to see that has gone out of it.
‘I think most of this is with the players. It’s not the coaches or the managers.’
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Bruno Fernandes (right) were unable to find United a winner
Jadon Sancho reacts with frustration as United dropped two crucial points at Turf Moor
Pogba, 28, is into the final few months of his United contract and is likely to depart in the summer after a second spell at the club lasting six years.
His goal at Turf Moor was well taken but United were unable to convert their first-half dominance into a match-winning lead and were punished two minutes after the break.
That result, coupled with West Ham’s 1-0 win over Watford, bumped United out of the top four and represents the eighth time they have thrown away a lead this season.
United could slip further down the table with Arsenal, Tottenham and Wolves all having at least two matches in hand on them.
