Solskjaer to give Paul Pogba a breather in Turkey with Man Utd star set for bench vs Basaksehir after Arsenal mistake
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER is likely to let Paul Pogba get his breath back by making him sub for the Champions League clash with Istanbul Basaksehir.
The French midfielder, 27, gave away the match-winning penalty with a rash challenge on Hector Bellerin against Arsenal at the weekend.
After the game, Pogba claimed: “Maybe I was a bit out of breath, and it made me do this stupid mistake”.
That raised a few eyebrows among United’s fitness advisers, who say the £89million star is ‘off the charts’ when injury-free.
United boss Solskjaer said the foul was probably down to Pogba’s poor decision-making instead.
Ahead of tonight’s Group H clash, Solskjaer said: “Paul is a fit lad.
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“He knows in that exact instance he could have dealt with it better, and he held his hand up.
“Every player is frustrated with himself and disappointed after a defeat.
“We need consistency from every one of our players, that’s what we want.
“Paul has been going through a difficult period with an injury last season and Covid now.
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“He’s working up to full fitness. We’ve seen plenty of positives lately and hopefully that continues.”
Solskjaer also rubbished Roy Keane’s taunt that Man Utd lack leaders.
Former captain Keane said that was one of their biggest problems, after watching his former team slump to a dismal 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
But Solskjaer hit back, saying: “Roy has always been outspoken and I’m very glad I have the players we’ve got here.
“We’ve got different jobs and Roy’s job is to give his opinion and I always listen to Roy.
“But we always move on here with a great group of players, a strong group of players, and I’m sure we’ll see a response.”