Paul Pogba 'bothered me' by talking to his brother during Manchester United vs St Etienne match, says Roy Keane
Roy Keane admitted that the sight of Paul Pogba speaking to his brother during Manchester United’s 3-0 victory over St Etienne left him “bothered” because he hasn’t spoken to his own brothers that much over the last five years.
Pogba, the world’s most expensive player following his £89m move to United last summer, enjoyed a family affair on Thursday night as he went up against older brother Florentin, with his family watching on from the stands in half-and-half shirts to support the pair of them.
It was the younger brother who was left celebrating at the end though, with United seizing a healthy advantage thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat-trick that leaves them in good shape to make the Europa League last-16 with the second leg scheduled for next weekend.
That still wasn’t enough for former United captain Keane though, as the current Republic of Ireland assistant manager criticised Pogba for his constant communication with his brother while the match was being played.
“It bothered me,” Keane said on ITV. “Pogba is a free spirit but a bit overconfident. They got on with the game in play, but it’s all part of modern game.
“They spoke more tonight than I have spoken to my brothers in last five years.”
The criticism is unlikely to crop up on Pogba’s radar though, given he took plenty of delight in facing his older brother on the pitch and admitted he can’t wait for the return leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
“It is something very magic[al],” he said. “That doesn't happen every day so I really enjoyed it.
“I really enjoyed seeing my brother, playing against him and I will enjoy that moment and look forward to playing the next game.”
While Pogba looked to try and control the game from a slightly deeper role in midfield, he did miss chances on goal as United reverted to relying on Ibrahimovic to find the back of the net.
Recently, both Juan Mata and Anthony Martial had found their goalscoring form, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also found the back of the net though he missed Thursday’s clash at Old Trafford through illness.
Despite not scoring, Martial impressed once again having bounced back from a spell out of the team as Jose Mourinho refused to pick him, and the France international looks much closer to his form of last season after forcing his way back into the side.
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