Juventus will target Paul Pogba at set-pieces against Manchester United, warns Jamie Carragher
The France international was at fault for Chelsea's opening goal in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge
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Your support makes all the difference.Juventus will target Paul Pogba’s sloppy marking at defensive set-pieces when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Tuesday night, according to Jamie Carragher.
Pogba was singled out for criticism by Carragher and Graeme Souness during Sky Sports' analysis of United’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, having allowed Antonio Rudiger to get away from him and rise unmarked to head in Willian’s corner and break the deadlock at Stamford Bridge in the 21st minute.
It is not the first time that Pogba’s commitment and concentration with regards to defending free-kicks and corners has been highlighted as an issue for United, and Carragher warned that Juventus – led by former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo – are ideally equipped to take advantage.
“Juventus have scored more goals than anyone else in Serie A from corners this season,” Carragher pointed out. “They've got Ronaldo, [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Leonardo] Bonucci, [Mehdi] Benatia and [Sami] Khedira if he plays.”
Souness, who has been a frequent critic of Pogba in recent years, said of the France international’s defending for Rudiger’s goal: “His starting position is all wrong. What you can't afford to happen is for them to get behind you.
“He has to be able to see out the corner of his eye, the kicker and the man he's marking and he fails to do that time and time again.
“It's not a hard thing to fix, but he's got to want to do it.”
Tuesday night will see Pogba face Juventus in a competitive match for the first time since leaving Turin to rejoin United for a then world-record fee of £89 million in August 2016.
Pogba won four Serie A titles in as many seasons with Juventus and lifted the Coppa Italia twice, while establishing himself as the most exciting young midfield talent in Europe.
He was also part of the team that reached the 2015 Champions League final, where they lost 3-1 to Barcelona in Berlin.
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