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Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Pogba's return to Man United side only positive from Watford loss - Solskjaer

Soccer Football - Premier League - Watford v Manchester United - Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain - December 22, 2019 Manchester United's Paul Pogba applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

(Reuters) - Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba's return from injury was the only positive from Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at bottom-placed Watford, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.

Frenchman Pogba, who has recovered from an ankle problem, came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance since facing Arsenal on Sept. 30 and looked lively though he failed to prevent United from dropping to eighth in the table.

"The big plus is Paul coming on, and that's the one plus," Norwegian Solskjaer told the BBC. "He added urgency, quality, some great passes.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Watford v Manchester United - Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain - December 22, 2019 Manchester United's Paul Pogba in action with Watford's Ben Foster Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

"The boy has been working hard. He's fit and leaner. He'll bring us a lot. He's important... he makes us create chances."

Solskjaer rued his team's lack of urgency in the game where they dominated possession.

"The first half it could easily have been my testimonial. And it might have been a better atmosphere at my testimonial. It was subdued, slow, no tempo, urgency," Solskjaer added.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Watford v Manchester United - Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain - December 22, 2019 Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

"We have started off something with the rebuild but today I'm disappointed because you have to come to these stadiums and get more points against teams like today."

Watford boss Nigel Pearson backed his side to climb out of the relegation zone following their first home win this season.

"We're in a difficult situation but we can get out of it," Pearson said.

"We have to do anything we can to win... I've seen lots to encourage myself that we're capable. We have to sustain our positive intent and our ability."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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