Juan Mata praises Paul Pogba’s performance against Chelsea

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has heaped praise on the performance of Paul Pogba following the club’s 2-0 triumph over Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round. The France international has been one of the club’s in-form players since the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he continued to provide another commanding performance with a goal and an assist against the Blues.

Speaking after the game, Mata was full of admiration for his teammate, who made the key difference during the first period. He added to praise the midfielder’s all-round ability on the playing field and hailed him as one of the best midfielders in the world, he said: “Yes, he assisted the cross for the first goal, scored the second one. Even in the second half, 80, 85 minutes he was still defending, going forwards. He’s very, very complete. He’s got physique, he’s got quality, he’s got a pass, he can go box to box. He’s one of the best. Today he showed why.”

Pogba had been playing in his shadows under former boss Jose Mourinho and this led to suggestions that he could part ways with the club at the end of the season. However, with the Portuguese’s sacking, he has managed to transform his fortunes and has come up with a number of top-notch performances which have contributed to the club’s upturn in results.

Meanwhile, United have been pitted against Wolverhampton Wanderers for the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup and they may feel hard done by, given they have already experienced a couple of testing trips to Arsenal and Chelsea in the same competition. Nonetheless, the focus would be on another strong away performance as they aim to enhance their prospects of securing silverware this term. Ole’s team are scheduled to face Liverpool at Old Trafford during the weekend’s league fixture.