Manchester United’s two creative midfielders combined to create the killer goal in the 2-0 victory against 10-man Brighton this evening.
Paul Pogba, who came on as substitute for the uninspiring Fred, breathed new life into the United side and provided the assist in the 96th minute for his teammate.
It was Pogba’s eighth assist in the Premier League this season. As Statman Dave points out, only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah have more.
Paul Pogba has registered 8 assist in the #PremierLeague this season, Only Trent Alexander-Arnold (10) and Mo Salah (9) have more.
Solid since coming back to the side. 👏 pic.twitter.com/rk825vmocn
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 15, 2022
And @UtdArena notes that Pogba’s eight have come in only 828 minutes of football, an incredible assist rate.
Pogba has eight league assists in just 828 minutes lol.
— UtdArena (@UtdArena) February 15, 2022
He and Bruno are developing an almost telepathic understanding. Another statistics site, whoscored.com, notes that ‘Pogba has directly assisted four goals for Bruno Fernandes in the Premier League this season, the best assist-to-goalscorer combination in the division.’
🤝 Paul Pogba has directly assisted four goals for Bruno Fernandes in the Premier League this season, the best assist-to-goalscorer combination in the division #MUNBHA pic.twitter.com/VQnwKkMfiW
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 15, 2022
In truth, United looked a different side once Pogba replaced Fred in the second half.
Fernandes had played well up until that point but seemed to go up a gear when joined by the Frenchman in United’s midfield.
He has now been involved in 58 Premier League goals for United since joining two years ago; 34 goals and 24 assists in just 75 games. A phenomenal record.
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 58 Premier League goals at Man Utd:
👕 75 appearances
⚽️ 34 goals
🅰️ 24 assistsMuch needed goal. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/qzfJPtZfRr
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 15, 2022
Statman Dave also points out that Bruno himself created five chances this evening, making it 70 for the season.
Bruno Fernandes’ game by numbers vs Brighton:
100% successful dribbles (2/2)
78 total touches
5 chances created
4 ground duels won
2 big chances created
3 shots on target
1 goalCreated over 70 chances in the PL this season. 🇵🇹🎯 pic.twitter.com/la32gUfbgV
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 15, 2022
The Pogba-Fernandes combination has had its critics but it was both easy on the eye and extremely productive against Brighton this evening.