Former Liverpool and Manchester City player Craig Bellamy is of the opinion that Jose Mourinho should not field Paul Pogba against Liverpool on Sunday. Pogba started in last night’s Champions League fixture against Valencia and gave in a poor performance as Manchester United lost 2-1.

Valencia who are currently 15th in the La Liga table scored early thanks to Carlos Soler. An own goal from Phil Jones early in the second half doubled their lead. Marcus Rashford pulled one back for Manchester United in the 87th minute but that would turn out to be merely a consolation goal.

The defeat did not matter much for Manchester United as they already confirmed their place in the knockout stages. However, they could have won their group if they defeated Valencia as Juventus surprisingly lost 2-1 against Young Boys at Bern.

Bellamy thinks that Pogba should not play against Liverpool. The former Wales international said, “Pogba was poor again tonight. Mourinho isn’t getting the best out of Pogba, that’s clear. There is a lack of interest from Pogba. His performance in Valencia was concerning. I’m not sure if he is as good as a lot of people make out. There’s a massive game on Sunday, Liverpool versus Manchester United is the biggest game in the Premier League between the teams who have won the most trophies, an incredible fixture.

“If you’re Mourinho, after Pogba’s performance today, it will be very difficult to say he has to play, he has to leave him out again.”

Bellamy added, “Usually, these kind of performances convince the manager he would be of use in games like the one on Sunday, but going off the back of the performance in Valencia that is not the case. We get reminded that Pogba won the World Cup every time we talk about him, but for a player that is used to playing in big games, he doesn’t look like he’s improving, he’s going backwards.”

Pogba did not start in Manchester United’s last two Premier League matches. Given his performance against Valencia and the magnitude of the game, there’s a good chance he might not start against Liverpool on Sunday.

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