In the warm-up to Sunday's victory over Bournemouth, Paul Pogba was spotted striking a pose that appeared very similar to the manner in which he would later celebrate a goal for Manchester United
This is Pogba at his most endearing and his most exasperating. Had United lost against Eddie Howe's team, many would have questioned the Frenchman and accused him of being distracted rather than focusing on the task at hand
This is Pogba in a nutshell; a maverick, an individual, a man who dyes his hair blue just as United travel to Manchester City, a man who unveils an emoji before a home game against Liverpool and a man who spends time before a trip to Anfield dancing around on Instagram
HOW POGBA PERFORMED UNDER MOURINHO AND NOW SOLSKJAER Pogba - PL 2018-19 Solskjaer Mourinho Games Played 3 14 Minutes Played 270 1136 Goals per game 1
33 0.24 Assists per game 1 0.24 Shots per game 4.33 3.17 Shots on target per game 3 1
66 Chances Created per game 2.67 1.43 Passes per game 96.33 64.17 Passing Accuracy 86
2 82.8 Tackles per game 2 1.11 Interceptions 1.33 0.4 Touches 113.67 86
59 As Pogba discovered, divergence from the norm only cuts it when you are winning
The idiosyncrasies that now bring a smile from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were previously cause for concern as United toiled under Jose Mourinho
Pogba's extreme confidence was interpreted as a player with an ego problem.In the new era, freedom of personality is encouraged
Solskjaer believes his players are more likely to perform if they are permitted to be comfortable in their own skin and he is being proven correct by Pogba
The Frenchman has scored four goals since Solskjaer arrived and his all-round game has been elevated
His passing accuracy is up from 82 per cent to 86 per cent under the caretaker manager and he's averaging over thirty more passes a game
He's also making an average of 1.33 interceptions per game, compared to 0.4 under Mourinho
At last, Pogba is taking a game and stamping his name all over it. Pogba has, for too long, been a player who decorates rather than defines games
He's been a scorer of great goals rather than a great goal scorer; a player suited to YouTube highlight reels rather than the consistency required to lead his team to trophies
Pogba, it should be said, has been far from perfect. There are times he has not helped his case, such as the occasion last year when United support staff needed to knock on his door to get Pogba out of bed
Pep Guardiola's revelation that Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, offered the midfielder to Manchester City during last January's transfer window was particularly damaging
Yes, Raiola is a loose cannon but he also reports to Pogba and the Frenchman would, surely, be able to tell his agent to stop being a nuisance if he so wished
Pogba's performances also deteriorated after his return from an injury last winter
He was particularly poor in games at Tottenham and Newcastle and after Mourinho signed his new contract, he felt emboldened to challenge Pogba by dropping him to the substitutes bench for key Champions League games against Sevilla
This was the beginning of the end for Mourinho, whose tough love only served to anger the player rather than stir Pogba's professional pride
There is a slight misconception around the relationship between Mourinho and Pogba
While it did freeze over during the past year, their first 18 months together was actually positive
Mourinho admired Pogba's pace and power and harnessed the Frenchman's link-up play with Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Privately, he believed Pogba to be a world class footballer who simply needed to find the required motivation and consistency and nobody would argue with that assessment
Solskjaer, however, is making tweaks to Pogba's game. The Norwegian has asked him to stop the showboating, to devastate rather than elaborate
He knows that Pogba's height, physique and technique mean that if he succeeds in doing the simple things well, very few will be able to stop the Frenchman
Mourinho wished Pogba would do the same but it appears the midfielder required love rather than criticism
Now he is receiving affection, Pogba is proving himself a quick learner.As a 14-year-old at French club Torcy, Pogba's coach once asked him to do 50 keepy-uppies with his right foot, left foot and his head by his coach
He failed the task but within two days had performed it in front of his entire team
Under Solskjaer, the progress has been similarly rapid.
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