Jose Mourinho Backs Paul Pogba Amid Criticism After Man Utd Beat Bournemouth

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has defended Paul Pogba amid criticism from Red Devils legend Paul Scholes, who branded the Frenchman's poor performance in the 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday as "disrespectful." 

Speaking after United's return to winning ways at Bournemouth on Wednesday, Mourinho responded to Scholes' criticism and said he did not believe Pogba's supposed lack of effort against the Baggies showed disrespect towards him, per PA Sport (via Sky Sports): "I don't agree. I agree that it wasn't a good performance at all [against West Brom]; with that I agree."

He also praised the midfielder's performance in the 2-0 victory against the Cherries, with Pogba having played a key role in the second goal, scored by Romelu Lukaku, which effectively wrapped the game up: "Top performance. Top performance. Obviously the performance against City was special, coming with two goals. But this performance was a very similar level. So top performance. He can do it."

Chris Smalling opened the scoring against Bournemouth before Lukaku came off the bench to ensure United earned all three points and took a firmer grip on the Premier League's second place.

Mourinho made seven changes from the West Brom clash for the visit to the Vitality Stadium.

Some of the changes, such as benching Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Lukaku, were likely intended to give key players a rest before Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.

However, the Portuguese manager was also likely trying to make a point following the dire performance against the Baggies that handed Manchester City the title.

The FA Cup will now be United's main focus for the rest of the season as they look to win some silverware.

Saturday's clash against Spurs is likely to be tough for the Red Devils, not least as the north London outfit have played all their home games at Wembley this season while their new stadium is being built.

United were outclassed as they lost 2-0 to Mauricio Pochettino's side at the national stadium in January.

Mourinho's United side can take confidence into Saturday's clash after returning to form against Bournemouth.

But there is huge pressure on the Manchester outfit, as their 2017-18 campaign will be regarded as a failure should they not win the FA Cup.