Tbf tho, France's performance last night was not like us at the Bridge in 2012 when we posted like 22 shots and nothing went in. Last night, I'd say the only players who really played up to expectations were Lloris, Umtiti, Sagna, Matuidi and Sissoko. That's it, the rest of them were pretty much shit. I was surprised in particular how clueless Pogba looked out there and his showings this tournament emphasized why I was never fully on board with him coming here. All the talent and ability, but not a lot of brains, leadership or guile.
There's been times Barça are so dominant, it looked like a training game but we would lose off of a badly defended set piece and a Herculean effort from an opposing GK. France were nowhere near that good and despite having the players and situation to take the game to Portugal, they were slow, ponderous and didn't find a way to win. France truly beat themselves last night, their big players (Pogba and "Grizou"
) were invisible when it mattered most. One of my favorite hockey coaches I had as a kid used to say "Big players play big in big games," and Griezmann confirmed he can't be that guy yesterday.
Lastly, can this forum FINALLY let go of this Pogba love potion we have been sipping on for quite sometime? We were acting like he was mana from heaven, Xavi in a black, 6'3 incarnation. He's definitely one of the best CMs in the game but for our style, I hope people realize now that it wouldn't be a good fit. He's the quintessential PL box-to-box MF and UTD are simply insane for letting go a player they vitally need now.
Sometimes it really feels like it
