Paul Pogba opened the scoring in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Burnley – but Old Trafford legend Peter Schmeichel was less than impressed by his performance
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Burnley vs Man United: Match in pictures
Peter Schmeichel has torn into Paul Pogba for being “completely out of the game” despite the midfielder opening the scoring for Manchester United in their Burnley stalemate.
Pogba, 28, lashed beyond Nick Pope in the 17th minute to give United the lead at Turf Moor with his first goal of a turbulent season.
But Jay Rodriguez levelled for the hosts early in the second half and the Red Devils were unable to find a winner, damaging their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Familiar frailties proved to be United’s undoing once again, with Burnley able to slice their way through the visitors’ central midfield and defence.
Pogba impressed on his return from three months out with a thigh injury in Friday’s FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough, but struggled to exert control against the Clarets alongside Scott McTominay.
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Schmeichel was pleased by the Frenchman’s display last week, which reaffirmed his quality with less than six months remaining on his contract.
However, the Old Trafford legend was dismayed by what he saw from Pogba against Burnley and insisted his level of performance was unacceptable.
“I said before the game Pogba played fantastic on Friday night. If Pogba plays like that we want to keep him, we desperately want to keep him,” Schmeichel told Premier League Productions, per Metro.
“But he was completely out of the game today and you can’t have players doing that.
“That’s not good enough for Man United. At Man United you’ve got to have a very, very high low-level and at a minimum you’ve got to perform to that.
“You’ve got to have this type of urgency and understanding of when you need to push forward to get the goal you need.
“In the last 20 minutes, the way Man United played was all in the same tempo and all in the same pattern.
“There were no pressure balls into Burnley’s box, there were no questions being asked.”
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The result saw the Red Devils give up their spot in the top four as West Ham overcame Watford to boost their own hopes of Champions League qualification.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has struggled to improve the team’s form since his appointment late last year, but Schmeichel insists the players must take the majority of the blame.
“Having played in the team, having understood what was required of you, that’s one of the more disappointing things for me to see that that has gone out of it,” the former goalkeeper added.
“I think most of this is with the players. It’s not the coaches or the managers.”
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