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Football

17th Apr 2019

Paul Pogba’s reaction to Lionel Messi’s stunning goal sums up the Barcelona icon’s genius

Marc Mayo

The Argentine tore United apart on Tuesday night

Lionel Messi was back to his best to deliver Barcelona to the Champions League semi-finals and Paul Pogba’s face was an absolute picture following the striker’s opener.

Stealing possession from Ashley Young, the total fear Messi instilled in Manchester United’s defenders was plain to see as they backed off, allowing him to run into open space and curl home a beautiful finish from 20 yards.

While the Camp Nou went wild, the camera panned to Pogba, who looked completely stunned by Messi’s genius. Like a rabbit in the headlights of a race car, destined to wipe him out no matter what he did.

Messi didn’t need to be quite so accurate when making it 2-0 on Tuesday night, beating David de Gea with a straightforward effort that the goalkeeper let slip through his palms. In fairness, de Gea made up for his error with a couple of top saves before Philippe Coutinho sealed the deal with an unstoppable effort.

It left United out of Europe and with few complaints, Pogba himself embodying the stunning rise and fall of the Red Devils’ form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club proving the theory that, with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

With a record of two wins and five defeats in seven, United next go to Everton for a crucial Premier League game before hosting Manchester City and Chelsea.