Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes charge of his first Man United game today with plenty on his plate having taken over from Jose Mourinho in midweek.
The trip to Cardiff one is a nice start on paper for the former United striker but he cant take the match for granted given the team's recent form in the Premier League.
Top of Solskjaer's to-do list will be to get Paul Pogba back to his brilliant best and quickly. The French World Cup winner is a huge talent as we have seen in moments during his 2nd spell with the team and during the World Cup, but the inability of Jose Mourinho to get the best out of the former Juventus star was one of his main downfalls.
Stories out of the club suggested that a bad attitude was to blame for the Pogba and Mourinho fall-out with the midfielder left on the bench for the entire game against Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
The narrative has been that Pogba has been holding back the Man United squad but in actual fact the stats tell a completely different story.
With Pogba on the pitch this term, Manchester United have had an expected goals ratio over three times more than without him which is a startling stat. The Red Devils have created 8.8 chances a game with the talented midfielder on the pitch, as opposed to just 2.4 chances per 90 minutes without him.
Wow.
United have also endure a far greater percentage of possession with Pogba on the pitch with 54% of the ball to their name, as opposed to 49% when the he has been left out of the side.
The stats prove that Paul Pogba is the key player for Manchester United and if Solskjaer can finally get a consistent tune out of the record signing it will go a long way to improving the mood, and the points tally at Old Trafford.
