Paul Pogba has admitted he made a ‘stupid mistake’ in conceding a penalty during Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
While the Gunners were the better side throughout the contest, the score was still 0-0 before the French World Cup winner bundled in Hector Bellerin, allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to convert the winner to end the goalless run. .
The defeat left United in 15th place in the Premier League, having lost three of their opening six, and Pogba admitted after the match that it was a mistake he could have avoided.
? Boss reacts to tonight’s result. #MUFC #MUNARS pic.twitter.com/kGjsFR8Qw1
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 1, 2020
He said, as quoted by the Telegraph: “I can’t give a foul like that. I felt like I touched it a little bit. I knew I was in the box, I shouldn’t give a penalty like that. was
“Maybe I was breathing a bit, it made me make that stupid mistake. I’m not the best defensively in the box, I can work on that.
“The team has my back but personally I’m just beating myself up. We lost the game because of such a stupid mistake.
While the Red Devils have gained a reputation for taking their fair share of penalties in recent seasons, this was the second Pogba conceded this season and his third in the Premier League under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer overall.
You can blame Pogba, and yes it was silly, but United were outplayed and out-thinking for 70 minutes.
Mistakes are inevitable when you don’t have the ball and spend the whole time in your own half.
— Scott Saunders (@_scottsaunders) November 1, 2020
It allowed Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to win at Old Trafford for the first time in the league since 2006 and took the north London side to eighth place.
Solskjaer was similarly unimpressed with his team’s performance, United’s website quoted him as saying: “In the first half, we just never came. The intensity, the tempo wasn’t there, the form – they were better than us and the half.” A couple of decent opportunities were created.
“In the second half, they didn’t look like they were going to score except for the penalty. So we played better in the second half but we still have to come with more intensity.”
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