Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho revealed why he did not consider starting Paul Pogba in United’s loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
World Cup winner Pogba watched from the bench for the second league match in succession as United slumped to a 3-1 defeat that leaves them 19 points adrift of top spot and 11 shy of fourth-place Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were on top from start to finish and only fleetingly looked like dropping points when Alisson’s error allowed Jesse Lingard to cancel out Sadio Mane’s opener with one of the visitors’ two shots on target.
Substitute Xherdan Shaqiri later made the dominance count with two deflected finishes as Pogba remained unused even while United floundered in their bid to mount a fightback.
Asked whether the £89million midfielder was considered for a place in the starting XI, Mourinho said: “No.”
Pressed as to why, he added: “Because I am happy with Nemanja Matic, Lingard and Ander Herrera.”