Manchester United v Newcastle United - Premier League
#3 Passing range
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Only Nemanja Matic has more passes than Paul Pogba for Manchester United, and no creative midfielder has registered more passes than the Frenchman in the Premier League so far. But, it is also the range of the Frenchman that sets him apart from the competition.
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Very few midfielders in the Premier League are as comfortable playing both long and short balls as the Frenchman. He is equally effective in quick one-twos near the opposition box, as well as sending accurate long balls at the feet of his forward men.
Ever since Solskjaer took over and allowed Pogba to function in a free role, the Frenchman's ability to pick a pass has made all the difference to his team. Relieved of all the burdens of tracking back and defending, Pogba has concentrated on his attacking instincts. While his short passing has been commendable, it is his cross-field balls which have torn the opposition on many occasions.
Last season, Pogba completed 110 accurate long balls from 27 games in the Premier League. This time, he already has 115 from 23 appearances. None of the other midfielders come even close to him in this category.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
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