Paul Pogba has said the Manchester United dressing room could not understand what had happened after their “bizarre” 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Monday night.
A Harry Kane header and two goals from Lucas Moura, all in the second half, consigned United to their second defeat of the new Premier League season and increased the pressure on under-fire manager Jose Mourinho.
United played better than in their dismal defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion eight days earlier, particularly in the first half, but failed to make their chances pay and were ultimately undone by preventable defensive errors.
Kane out-jumped Phil Jones on a corner to give Tottenham the lead early on in the second half before Lucas doubled their advantage two minutes later. The Brazilian added another late on after dribbling past a helpless Chris Smalling.
“Even we don’t understand what happened,” Pogba said after the final whistle. “We started the game really well, we conceded two goals in the second half.
“The first goal was a real blow, we didn’t understand why, because we had the game in hand. One goal, two... we kept pushing, we had chances, and we conceded the third.”
Pogba added: “The fans kept pushing us, they were really behind us,” he added. “We feel really sorry for them, very disappointed, we wanted to do better. I think it was an undeserved defeat for us. In our desire, in everything we put into it. But football can be cruel. We just have to bounce back.
“It won’t be easy, but it’s just the start of the season. I prefer to start badly and end well than start well and finish badly.”
Pogba assured supporters that United would be able to nip their poor start to the season in the bud but said the margin of defeat – the heaviest home reverse of Mourinho’s managerial career – had shell-shocked him and his team-mates.
“It’s bizarre. Today, we were determined, we started well, and in the end we lost 3-0. It’s a shock,” he said.
“We have to keep going, we musn’t worry. We must work. We are still Manchester United and we won’t give up on anything.”
