Manchester United are hours away from attempting to conjure up a seemingly impossible task: beating Juventus in Turin.
The Old Lady have only lost one group stage Champions League home match since the hazy days of 2003, while Max Allegri’s men have won 10 and lost none of their last 11 games in all competitions on home soil.
It’s undoubtedly a daunting task for Man Utd, who are priced out at 11/2, but with a rejuvenated Anthony Martial in their ranks the Red Devils will be bidding to come away with a shock result.
However, the spotlight is instead set to be pinned on Martial’s teammate Paul Pogba, who previously spent four seasons at Juventus, where he won four consecutive Serie A titles, a brace of Coppa Italias, and a couple of Supercoppa honours.
The Frenchman has come under pressure at times this season, but one of his former teammates, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has launched a passionate defence of the midfielder.
“I think the thing with Pogba has become an issue that’s a little bit ridiculous,” Ibrahimovic told FourFourTwo magazine.
“Everybody hangs up on Pogba. Somebody goes through a red light: it’s Pogba’s fault. You get a puncture on a tyre: it’s Pogba’s fault. Something goes wrong: it’s Pogba’s fault. All these people talk: I think they just want attention, so they talk. They expect miracles every second.
“They have to relax. They have to look at themselves, especially the ex-players, and ask themselves, ‘What did I do when I played?’ Because they were not much better - I played against them. Some were good; some were less good. Excuse my words, but they should all shut up and mind their own business. They get paid to talk, they get paid to get attention, but you have to talk with facts.
“When it comes to Paul, I think it feels personal. They have to be careful, because when it becomes personal, it’s not professional. They’re two different things. When you get paid to do work, you have to be professional, not personal. You leave personal things at home.”
Ibrahimovic and Pogba both arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016, and went on to win a treble-of-sorts in the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield, before the Swede departed to LA Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic has since been linked with a sensational return to Man Utd, while Real Madrid and his former club AC Milan are also believed to be keen on acquiring his services.
