Pogba leads thrilling Man Utd comeback to keep City waiting for title

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Paul Pogba spoiled Manchester City’s anticipated Premier League title party by scoring twice in two minutes as Manchester United came from 2-0 down to win a thrilling derby 3-2 on Saturday.

Chris Smalling completed the comeback that looked so improbable when City were well on course to round off a resounding march towards the title by racing into a 2-0 first-half lead.

Goals from captain Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan put the hosts in a commanding position, who were left to rue huge missed chances from Raheem Sterling to extend their lead.

FT: City 2 #MUFC 3.

A @PaulPogba brace and a @ChrisSmalling goal make it a derby day to remember for United. Not a bad second half, eh Reds?! ?? pic.twitter.com/MQc704Rpw8

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 7, 2018

City manager Pep Guardiola added more spice to an already hotly-anticipated clash when he claimed on Friday he had been offered the chance to buy Pogba two months ago by the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

Pogba has endured a desperately disappointing season having often been dropped by Jose Mourinho for United’s biggest games.

But after so much criticism, Pogba showed why he was the world’s most expensive player when United splashed out £89 million to bring him back to the club from Juventus in 2016 by hauling United back into a game that looked lost at half-time.

Guardiola kept his pre-match promise to prioritise Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool with City needing to overturn a 3-0 first leg deficit.

Kevin de Bruyne, a leading candidate for player of the year awards, was left on the bench alongside Gabriel Jesus and City’s all-time top goalscorer Sergio Aguero.

Guardiola and Mourinho have a long-running rivalry dating back to their time in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

Blue hair, red hero ?? pic.twitter.com/PhUUDj4EJO

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 7, 2018

And the game quickly settled into the usual pattern when the two face off with City dominating possession and United happy to get plenty of men behind the ball.

Yet, for all City’s possession, just like when City won 2-1 at Old Trafford in December, it was from a set-piece that United were undone.