Ole Gunnar Solskjaer disclosed what he told Paul Pogba after the midfielder missed the penalty against Southampton.
Manchester United defeated Southampton 3-2 in an eventful game at Old Trafford. Solskjaer’s men secured a late comeback in the game, courtesy a brace from Romelu Lukaku and a stunner from Andreas Pereira.
The side went down early in the first half when De Gea was beaten by a long-range shot. However, Manchester United entered the field in the second half with the intention of getting the parity in the game and Andreas Pereira scored the equalizer.
Diogo Dalot was substituted in for an injured Alexis Sanchez and improved the pace of the game significantly for Manchester United. The side scored a second through Romelu Lukaku.
Ward-Prowse did equalize for the visitors with a brilliant free-kick, but his goal was cancelled out by Lukaku again, who made no mistake in beating the goalkeeper.
However, United squandered a great opportunity to double the lead in the injury time as Paul Pogba missed a penalty in the game. He was criticised for not letting Lukaku score, who was on a hattrick. The Belgian striker later revealed that it was him who asked Pogba to take the penalty.
Solskjaer, meanwhile, disclosed what he told Paul Pogba after the French midfielder missed his third penalty of the season.
“I just said to him there, ‘Get ready for the next one, because you’re gonna take that as well’,” Solskjaer said.
“I’ve missed penalties. He’s a confident boy, he wants to go and take the next one, you want that character and today was one of the ones he really blasted them, he normally just places them, so he’ll be okay.”
Earlier in the season, when Pogba missed a penalty against Everton, the-then United manager Jose Mourinho also had encouraging words for the midfielder.
“Paul wants to take, that for me is fantastic. If he misses he misses, can he improve his penalties? I think he can.
“The goalkeeper now knows his running and they don’t move and they are waiting until the last second for his decision. So I think he probably has to learn from that.
“But what for me is the most important thing is next time we have a penalty he goes again. And he goes happy again, and that for me is the most important thing.”
Paul Pogba is arguably the most improved player at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The midfielder has scored 9 goals and racked up seven assists in 13 games under his charge.
What next?
Manchester United face a tough test next week as the side takes on Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16.
Solskjaer’s men lost 2-0 in the first leg at Old Trafford and will be without Paul Pogba as they travel to Paris. The side is also hit by an injury crisis. Major first-team stars like Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial have not made an appearance for the side since the game against Liverpool.
While Matic is out for a few weeks, the chances of the rest being fit for the PSG clash are relatively low.
