Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba’s return from injury was the only positive from Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at bottom-placed Watford, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
Frenchman Pogba, who has recovered from an ankle problem, came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance since facing Arsenal on Sept. 30 and looked lively though he failed to prevent United from dropping to eighth in the table.
“The big plus is Paul coming on, and that’s the one plus,” Norwegian Solskjaer told the BBC. “He added urgency, quality, some great passes.
“The boy has been working hard. He’s fit and leaner. He’ll bring us a lot. He’s important… he makes us create chances.”
Solskjaer rued his team’s lack of urgency in the game where they dominated possession.
“The first half it could easily have been my testimonial. And it might have been a better atmosphere at my testimonial. It was subdued, slow, no tempo, urgency,” Solskjaer added.
“We have started off something with the rebuild but today I’m disappointed because you have to come to these stadiums and get more points against teams like today.”
Watford boss Nigel Pearson backed his side to climb out of the relegation zone following their first home win this season.
“We’re in a difficult situation but we can get out of it,” Pearson said.
“We have to do anything we can to win… I’ve seen lots to encourage myself that we’re capable. We have to sustain our positive intent and our ability.”
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)
