Can Manchester United's deadly attacking duo end Liverpool's title charge?
In a season when the top sides have already hit some audaciously entertaining heights - especially in some sensational games against each other - there is also an entertaining debate. Who has been the most spectacular player in the Premier League? Who has consistently done the most spectacular things?
There are a number of candidates, a number of exquisite examples. At Chelsea, there have been the runs and innovation of Eden Hazard, often followed by some supreme strikes by Diego Costa. At Arsenal, there has been the rampaging running of Alexis Sanchez, with the ingenuity he displayed against West Ham United even matched by the improvisation of Olivier Giroud in his goal against Crystal Palace.
At Manchester City, there’s been the sheer penetration of Kevin De Bruyne amid some gloriously choreographed passages of play when they are on form, with Liverpool offering an exhilarating contrast through their thrilling relentlessness and the way someone like Sadio Mane suddenly surges through to provide it with a swishing scything edge.
Then there is the danger Liverpool will face on Sunday at Old Trafford. It really is difficult to think of anything in the Premier League as consistently divine right now as Paul Pogba’s deliveries. There was another masterclass in the 2-0 EFL Cup win over Hull City on Tuesday, where he earned the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 9.06, but that merely re-emphasised how this is a player fully coming to form; fully coming into his own and expressing himself.
It feels like there have been several displays of this kind of audacious accuracy in every recent game, with every one of them further banishing the doubts about an otherwise talented player who supposedly didn’t have a position. It’s not just that Pogba’s found a position. He’s started to command an entire area of the pitch, while dictating what happens elsewhere.
The 23-year-old set Wayne Rooney up for what should have been a fitting move to break Bobby Charlton’s United goal record on Tuesday, only for the English forward to shoot narrowly wide. What has really helped further elevate Pogba’s game - and United’s general play - has been that he has usually been passing to someone much more prolific; much more deadly.
He is usually playing those passes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the Swede has started to sweep them home with impressive regularity, rousing the entire new Mourinho era again. The goal against Crystal Palace, where Pogba slipped the ball through for Ibrahimovic to slide it home, was the perfect example.
They’ve become the perfect partnership, after a relatively slow start. The stats illustrate they have more than picked up speed, though. Pogba has directly created 14 chances for Ibrahimovic, with Ibrahimovic returning the favour with 11 for the midfielder. That makes them the most productive duo, in terms of opportunities set up for each other, in the Premier League.
Pogba creating for Ibrahimovic is also the second most consistent two-player attacking approach in the league, with only Jason Puncheon’s 16 chances for Christian Benteke at Crystal Palace ahead of them. The big difference, of course, is that the United players are obviously so much more imaginative and innovative. So, even if you expect it to come, there’s often little you can do about it.
That partnership, as well as attacking talent like Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata buzzing around them, has been key to lifting United’s form; to transforming the feel around the Mourinho regime after what was a difficult start. It also, however, creates something of a challenge and dilemma for him this weekend. To really emphasise that things have changed for United, they probably have to properly go and beat Liverpool on Sunday.
What is the best way to go about doing that, though? United’s recent form is built on their attack, but would going so proactive be the worst thing to do against a forward line as high-flying as Liverpool’s? Would it best to defend as deep as they did in that Anfield 0-0… or would that then be going against this United team’s strengths, and also sap some of the side's rhythm? Mourinho must work that out. He can at least rely on Pogba working as hard as possible, and working so well with Ibrahimovic. It could yet swing any decision, and swing the game.
In that last meeting between United and Liverpool, Ibrahimovic wasted a supreme Pogba cross that could well have won a tight encounter. They look on a different level now, but the wonder is whether Mourinho will play the system that so serves them. After a period where they’ve looked so good, this will say a lot.
