Paul Pogba may have been on the pitch for 45 minutes, but was ‘unplayable’ as the Manchester United captain led his side to a 2-0 victory against Granada.
The France international was booked in the first half at Old Trafford, perhaps a little unfairly, but showed plenty of drive and ingenuity from midfield against the LaLiga outfit to lead them to a 4-0 aggregate victory.
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Edinson Cavani showed his predatory instincts yet again as he was granted the freedom of the penalty area to score his 413th goal inside just six minutes as he lashed a left-footed volley into the back of the net.
The visiting defence rushed to deal with the run of Pogba into the box, with his clever backwards header finding Cavani inexplicably without a single Granada defender around him.
It was a very scrappy second which rubber stamped the victory, with Alex Telles swinging in a cross from the left hand side which bounced in off the head of Jesus Vallejo to extinguish any hope of grabbing even a draw on the night.
With no Harry Maguire on the pitch, it was Pogba who wore the armband for the Red Devils and he delivered a captain’s performance during his time on the pitch.
Dean Ashton was watching the game at Old Trafford for talkSPORT 2 and was effusive in his praise for the former Juventus midfielder.
Paul Pogba’s first half contribution against Granada (pitch rank)
The Manchester United captain on the night was described as ‘unplayable’ and his stats back that up...
- 10 duels won [1st]
- 7 ball recoveries [2nd]
- 3 dribbles completed [1st]
- 3 chances created [1st]
He said: “Well Pogba got yellow carded but, if you actually watch that run that he made, he shrugged two or three Granada players away.
I think it shows when he is at his best and he is aggressive as he was there, he is pretty unplayable.
“The close control and the athleticism he has got is difficult to handle. He has been the one player maybe trying to drive this time forward, everyone else I feel is in cruise control.
“He is the one in good form and, being captain tonight, he is trying to lead by example.”
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The aforementioned booking occurred when the midfielder made a powerful run, scything through the Granada defence, accidentally catching German Sanchez in the face as he drove forward.
There was very little the 28-year-old could do, but the Granada players soon swarmed around the midfielder whenever he made a tackle. Tottenham flop Roberto Soldado even got himself a booking due to his vociferous protestations trying to get Pogba a second card.
Due to the lopsided aggregate score and the lack of danger presented by the visitors, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had the luxury of taking his best player off as United cruised.
Bruno Fernandes lashed over a great chance in the first half which would have been replayed the world over had it flown in, but it spiralled agonisingly over the bar.
The Red Devils will now play Roma in the Europa League semi-finals after the Serie A giants beat Ajax 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.
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