Jose Mourinho focuses on Manchester United's all-round performance despite Paul Pogba's winning display
Mourinho was also even-handed in his praise for full-backs Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho chose to hail Manchester United’s all-round display rather than singling out individuals after a Paul Pogba-inspired Champions League win at Young Boys.
The midfielder captained United in Antonio Valencia’s absence and led by example, scoring twice and setting up Anthony Martial for United’s third.
Tough tests against Valencia and Juventus – Pogba’s former club – await in Group H but the Frenchman’s match-winning display ensured United made the best possible start.
However, when asked what he made of Pogba’s performance, Mourinho elected to focus on the overall display of his team.
“I don’t think he can score goals every match,” the United manager said of Pogba, before comparing Pogba’s first to a moment from Saturday’s 2-1 win at Watford.
“The goal he scored today, the first goal is not different than the fantastic save [Ben] Foster had in the last match.
“If he starts arriving in possible scoring positions that can be a plus for the team so I’m happy with that.
“The team had good stability in midfield to allow him to go to these kind of positions and I’m happy with the good solid performance of the team more than any individual.”
Mourinho added: “We knew we needed to win this match and to go the next three matches against Valencia and Juventus twice with three points and we did it.”
The United manager has not stopped short of praising Pogba after good performances in the past, describing him as “a monster” after last month’s win over Leicester City.
Yet Mourinho remained even-handed in his praise, even when asked about the eye-catching display by debutant right-back Diogo Dalot.
“I want to be also nice to Luke [Shaw, United’s left-back] because I think both play at the same level, they played very very well.
“Our danger came from both of them, they had fantastic movement, depth, crosses, assists. They were involved in the most dangerous actions, so both were very, very good.
“But Luke is here for a few years is playing since beginning of the season. For Diogo, first match after knee surgery, very good solid performance.
“Everybody could see the potential and he is a 19-year-old player who has more than 10 years to play for Manchester United.”
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