Pogba finally produces biggest Juventus moment nearly a year after Man Utd exit

Frank Lampard on Paul Pogba in 2018

As Juventus chased a crucial leveller against Sevilla on Thursday night, Massimiliano Allegri looked to his bench. On came Federico Chiesa, Arkadiusz Milik, Federico Gatti and Samuel Iling-Junior, with Paul Pogba then coming on as a last resort. But it was a key cameo from the midfielder, who provided the assist for Gatti – his first for the club since returning from Manchester United.

Juventus nearly saw their hopes of winning a trophy this season dealt an almighty blow on Thursday night with Sevilla going 1-0 up through Youssef El-Nesyri, with the Morocco international breaking the deadlock in the 26th minute.

Juventus, to their credit, didn’t throw in the towel. They’ve built a fighting spirit of late, bouncing back from some political issues in impressive style.

And, in the closing stages, Pogba provided the assist for Gatti in order for the Old Lady to earn a draw.

As Juventus chased the game and a crucial home goal to level the tie, Allegri threw on four players and left Pogba on the bench.

Only when all other tactics failed did Allegri decide to turn to the France international, who immediately started to produce some fancy skills and trickery.

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And Pogba then produced the goods in the 97th minute, helping his side earn a draw with a fine assist for Gatti. 

Make no mistake about it, Sevilla remain favourites to make the Europa League final – something they’ve done time and time again over the years.

But with Pogba now finally making the headlines for all the right reasons, Juventus can’t be entirely ruled out.

Upon bringing the midfielder back to Turin, the Old Lady were convinced he’d pick up right where he left off.

Pogba had been sublime during his first spell with the Italian giants, helping them dominate Serie A under both Allegri and Antonio Conte.

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He was also a key part of the team that propelled Juventus to the Champions League final in 2015, with Barcelona beating them to the prize that year.

But Pogba has never really got going.

Injuries were starting to hamper the midfielder at United towards the end of his mixed time at Old Trafford.

And problems have plagued the 2018 World Cup winner ever since, with Pogba often looking a shell of the player he used to be.

He’s fit again these days, recently making cameos off the bench against the likes of Lecce and Atalanta.

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Allegri clearly can’t trust his No 10 to get through a whole 90 minutes unscathed, which is why he was forced to watch as his team fell behind.

Relations between the pair seem strained these days, too.

Pogba angered his manager over the weekend, with the pair having a tense exchange as Juventus beat Atalanta 2-0.

The midfielder lost the ball and his manager lashed out, taking his frustrations out on water bottles that were decorated around the touchline.

Pogba had, according to Allegri, told the 55-year-old to ‘relax’.

And the Juventus boss reacted to the incident after the game by saying: “With Paul’s quality and characteristics, he cannot lose the ball in those situations.

“He told me to relax, but there’s no relaxing, we needed to keep the ball at that moment.”

Pogba’s last trophy at club level was back in 2017, when he claimed Europa League glory under old foe Jose Mourinho at United.

His last piece of silverware at any level was in 2018, when he flourished as France won the World Cup.

But, after a difficult 12 months, the midfielder now looks ready for the big time again.

Pogba has work to do, of course. One assist doesn’t make up for a year where he’s missed more matches than played in.

But this is a step in the right direction. At long last, a player who once cost more than any other has a foundation to build on.

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