Man United players don't want Pogba on penalties
Man United players were reportedly surprised to see Pogba step up to take the penalty against Wolves last weekend and only want Rashford on duties.
Paul Pogba’s second-half penalty miss against Wolves, which consigned Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Molineux on Monday, has brought the issue of United’s designated spot-kick taker to the fore in the media this week.
And the latest reports emerging from the UK claim that United’s players are backing Marcus Rashford to be on penalty duty following Pogba’s crucial miss.
The Frenchman had been the one to win the penalty and perhaps felt he had the right to take it as a result. But according to the Daily Mail, his team mates were surprised to see Pogba step up as they assumed it would be Rashford, who had scored from the spot in the 4-0 drubbing of Chelsea the weekend prior.
Penalty fiasco "embarrassing" for United - Neville
Before the penalty was taken in at Molineux, Pogba and Rashford seemed to have a debate as to who should step up to the spot, with former United defender Gary Neville blasting the incident as an embarrassment to his former club.
“They should decide in the dressing room who is the penalty taker – it’s embarrassing,” said the Sky Sports pundit. “This is a Manchester United penalty, it’s not a tombola or a game for under-fives on the school field.”
Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also criticised for overly protecting Pogba in his comments after the game, with some calling into the question the Norwegian coach’s leadership following the penalty fiasco.
"I'm sure you're going to see Paul Pogba score a penalty for United again, we're practising penalties still and Marcus and Paul are still on them,” said Solskjaer.
However, as reports in the UK suggest, the United players themselves would rather see the duties handed over completely to Rashford, who has a much better record from the spot than his French team mate.