Jose Mourinho defends Paul Pogba after Manchester United star is mercilessly mocked for run-up
JOSE MOURINHO has leapt to Paul Pogba's defence after he was slammed for taking an eternity to complete his run up to a penalty yesterday.
While the Special One believes there's room for improvement, he commended the World Cup winner's courage to take the penalty.
When United were awarded a penalty for a tackle on Anthony Martial, it took Pogba just under 12 seconds to strike the ball after the referee's whistle had blown.
But Mourinho didn't join the chorus of fans who slammed Pogba's stuttered run-up.
The Special One said: “The thing I like is the desire to take it. Let me choose the words, I don’t want to be punished.
“I don’t like Mickey Mouses, fragile, afraid to go, ‘I don’t take penalties.’ I like the player that I want to take it.
“The Crystal Palace boy today he missed against Everton and today two penalties he wants to take.
"Paul, can he improve? I think he can.
"The goalkeepers know his running, they don’t move and they are waiting for his decision so he has to learn from that but for me, the most important thing is he wants to go again."
Pogba was fortunate that the ball rebounded into his path as he slotted into an empty net to spare his own blushes.
That has led to the Frenchman admitting he may have to ditch his run-up.
While Mourinho hasn't publicly criticised Pogba for taking over 30 steps before striking the ball, fans certainly have.
Social media was awash with United fans slamming Pogba for his shuffle and club legend Gary Neville called it "all for show".
And they won't be happy to know the designated spot-kick taker took longer to strike the ball after the referee blew his whistle than the 9.58 seconds it takes Usain Bolt to run 100m.
Luke Shaw took a different approach to his boss and poked fun at his team-mate for his eccentric penalty run up.
When the hashtag "things you can do during Pogba's penalty run up" started trending on Twitter, Shaw jumped on the band wagon and jokingly tweeted: “Make a comeback in your career and renew your contract”.
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