Paul Pogba is the man who makes Manchester United tick... he is 35 games unbeaten and Jose Mourinho believes he is only going to get better

  • Paul Pogba ran the show as Manchester United beat Stoke 3-0 on Monday night
  • United have not lost with him in the team this season and he is proving his worth
  • He has most assists of any player in Europe's top five leagues, despite less games
  • Jose Mourinho says the team is going more in Pogba's direction, and it shows 

This season, Paul Pogba has played 13 Premier League games. Nine wins, four draws, no defeats. He is 35 games unbeaten in total, and is only getting better. He is making Man United tick.

On Monday night, he ran the show against Stoke, helping his team to a 3-0 win. You may not see his name on the scoresheet, but he is becoming king of the assist. Two more this week took his tally to nine for the season.

In fact, most of the stats are in his favour. Be it passes, tackles, chances created... you name it, he can do it, and he is only getting better.

There is no holding back Paul Pogba; he keeps getting better and the stats show exactly that

There is no holding back Paul Pogba; he keeps getting better and the stats show exactly that

The Manchester United midfielder has the most assists of any player in Europe's big leagues

The Manchester United midfielder has the most assists of any player in Europe's big leagues

MANCHESTER UNITED WITH AND WITHOUT THEIR STAR MAN...
With Pogba Man Utd PL 17/18 Without Pogba
13 Games 10
9 Wins 6
4 Draws 1
0 Losses 3
33 Goals For 15
2.5 Avg. Goals For 1.5
10 Goals Against 6
0.8 Avg. Goals Against 0.6
69.2% Win Percent 60.0%
2.4 Points/Game 1.9

After the win against Stoke, Mourinho was quick to praise his main man. United are moulding to the Frenchman, and becoming his team. 


'He was moving the ball fantastically well, with long passes changing the direction and creating problems for the opponent,' Mourinho said.

'He had an assist and if he had scored the free-kick with the last shot of the game, it would be really a reward for him.

'I think he is happy with the way the team is playing and he's happy because the team is changing the profile and the profile is going more in his direction.' 

Jose Mourinho is a big fan of Pogba and admits he is shaping United to suit the midfielder more

Jose Mourinho is a big fan of Pogba and admits he is shaping United to suit the midfielder more

Against Stoke, Pogba provided another two assists to take his season tally to nine in 13 games

Against Stoke, Pogba provided another two assists to take his season tally to nine in 13 games

MOST ASSISTS IN EUROPE
Top 5 Euro Leagues 17/18 Assists
Paul Pogba9
Leroy Sane 9
Pione Sisto 9
Philipp Max 9
Neymar 9
Kevin De Bruyne 9
Lionel Messi 8
Florian Thauvin 8
David Silva 8
Kylian Mbappe 8
Antonio Candreva 8
Luis Alberto 7
Riyad Mahrez 7
Ciro Immobile 7
Dele Alli 7

United's system changes often, but if Pogba is injury-free then he will be at the heart of it. He has been given a new role, further forward. With more time and space on the ball, he is able to create and roam.

And he said as much after the game: 'I can use more of my ability, my attributes, to go forward, to use my power, shoot, try to make an assist. I think it suits me more.'

Let's take a look at the stats. In terms of Premier League players, nobody has more assists than Pogba this season. Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne are level, but both have played far more games.

In fact, in all of Europe's top five leagues there is not one player with more assists. He is in the top 10 for passes per game, too. An average of 69.2 puts him above Cesc Fabregas and on the same level as Mesut Ozil.

Delving into the United squad, it is much the same. Passes into the final third, only Nemanja Matic is ahead of him... and yes, the Serbian has played 10 more games. 

His new role at United gives him more freedom to roam, pick out passes and create chances

His new role at United gives him more freedom to roam, pick out passes and create chances

Injury means he hasn't played as many games as some, but his stats are still hugely impressive

Injury means he hasn't played as many games as some, but his stats are still hugely impressive

PL MIDFIELDERS PASSING STATS
Midfielders 17/18 Apps Passes Passes/Game
Fernandinho 23 1978 86.0
David Silva 19 1596 84.0
Granit Xhaka 23 1893 82.3
Jordan Henderson 16 1204 75.3
Fabian Delph 16 1160 72.5
Kevin De Bruyne 23 1666 72.4
Nemanja Matic 23 1614 70.2
Mesut Ozil 18 1247 69.3
Paul Pogba 13 899 69.2
Cesc Fabregas 20 1345 67.3

Only Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have created more chances, despite the Frenchman's lack of football. He is right up there for tackles, too. 

There is no cherry-picking here, no being selective to suit a pro-Pogba agenda. It's just how it is. Every stat this season seems to be in his favour, and he is improving by the game.

He has nearly gone 38 games without defeat, the equivalent of an entire Premier League season. 

Manchester City may have taken all the plaudits this season, but just down the road Pogba is quietly going about his business.

Three more games - Burnley, Tottenham, Huddersfield - and he will have got there. Take that, Pep. 

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