📝 Pogba-inspired Manchester United dump Chelsea out of the FA Cup | OneFootball

Manchester United are through to the quarter-final of the FA Cup following a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides traded blows in an action-packed opening period but it was United who drew first blood in the 32nd minute.

Paul Pogba found Ander Herrera with a deep cross from the left and the Spaniard headed past Kepa Arrizabalaga for 1-0.

And on the stroke of half-time, Pogba scored himself to make it 2-0. An excellent Marcus Rashford delivery from the right found the Frenchman in the box and his header crept past the goalkeeper and into the corner.

Chelsea huffed and puffed in the second half but were unable to find a breakthrough, and 2-0 was how it finished.

👨‍🎤Hero and villain

Hero: Paul Pogba

Delivered the killer ball for United’s opening goal before scoring one of his own and had a firm grip on the midfield throughout.

Villain: Mateo Kovačić

Was more hinderance than help to his team and it’s difficult to work out what sort of player he’s supposed to be.

📖 What we learned from this game

United got a thorough schooling from Paris Saint-Germain last week and their Champions League campaign is probably over but at domestic level, Solskjaer’s side are still a force to be reckoned with. The FA Cup represents an excellent opportunity to put some gloss on what has largely been a season to forget, and they should be targeting a place in the final at least.

Pogba continues to thrive under Solskjaer’s system and makes more and more of a mockery of José Mourinho with each passing game. United’s hierarchy haven’t made too many great decisions in recent years, but choosing their star player over their former manager was undoubtedly one of them.

Maurizio Sarri is really struggling and could well be sacked if Chelsea lose the EFL Cup final to Manchester City on Sunday. The Blues defended miserably in this game and looked clueless in attack. N’Golo Kanté is being played out of position, Jorginho should be dropped and Gonzalo Higuaín doesn’t appear to have solved any problems whatsoever. If Sarri does go soon, it will be his tactical stubbornness more than his results which will ultimately have cost him his job.

Kepa Arrizabalaga is the world’s most expensive goalkeeper yet he is far from the world’s best and really should have done better with United’s second goal. He’s still only 24 and has time to improve but £72m seems like an awful lot of money at the moment.

🤔 What this means

United will find out who they will face in the quarter-final when the draw is made straight after tonight’s game.

❓ What’s next?