Pogba Joins Exclusive Goalscorers Club

Manchester United midfield maestro Paul Pogba started the 2017/18 Premier League season how he ended the 2016/17 campaign – with a goal.

The Frenchman’s goals versus West Ham on Sunday and against Crystal Palace in May made him the 10th Red to find the net on the opening day of one Premier League season, after scoring in the final match of the previous campaign.

In doing so, Pogba followed some of United’s best-ever midfielders onto the list, along with some of the club’s most prolific goalscorers. Here, ManUtd.com takes a look at the other players to achieve the noteworthy feat.

BRYAN ROBSON
09.05.1993 v Wimbledon, 15.08.1993 v Norwich City

United’s longest-serving captain started this exclusive club, as he netted in the 2-1 win over Wimbledon on the final day of the 1992/93 term, before following it with a goal at Carrow Road on the opening day of the 1993/94 season in the 2-0 defeat of Norwich.

The 1993/94 campaign turned out to be the last of the dynamic central midfielder’s Reds career as, at the end of the season, he left for Middlesbrough with 461 United appearances across all competitions to his name, as well as 99 goals.

TEDDY SHERINGHAM
10.05.1998 v Barnsley, 15.08.1998 v Leicester City

Sheringham became the second player to achieve this record as he scored on the Premier League’s final day in 1998, as United beat Barnsley 2-0, and he later netted in the 2-2 draw with the Foxes in United's opener to the Treble-winning season.

The 51-time England international finished his United career in 2001, by which time he had scored 46 goals in 153 league and cup outings.

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY
11.05.2003 v Everton, 16.08.2003 v Bolton Wanderers

The Dutchman followed fellow striker Sheringham onto the list, as he found the net in the 2-1 victory over the Toffees on the final day of the 2002/03 Premier League campaign, as well as in the following season’s opening day 4-0 win over Bolton.

Van Nistelrooy’s five-year spell at Old Trafford saw him become one of the club’s most prolific goalscorers ever, as he netted 150 goals in 219 appearances in all competitions before leaving for Real Madrid in the summer of 2006.

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY
15.05.2005 v Southampton, 13.08.2005 v Everton

Ruud is the only player on this list to have achieved the feat twice, as he did it again in 2005 by scoring in the 2-1 win at St Mary’s in the 2004/05 Premier League’s final day, and again in the following season’s 2-0 victory on Merseyside.

CRISTIANO RONALDO
07.05.2006 v Charlton Athletic, 20.08.2006 v Fulham

Ronaldo was on target in the 4-0 demolition of Charlton on the last day of the 2005/06 season, before following it up with a goal in the 5-1 annihilation of Fulham at Old Trafford on the 2006/07 Premier League’s opening weekend.

The Portuguese ace found the net on 118 occasions in his 292 appearances for the Reds, before departing for Los Blancos in 2009, where he has since become one of the game’s real megastars.

LOUIS SAHA
07.05.2006 v Charlton Athletic, 20.08.2006 v Fulham

The pacey Frenchman achieved the feat in the very same games as Ronaldo did, as he too netted in the beatings of Charlton in 2005/06, and former club Fulham in 2006/07.

Saha registered 124 appearances in his four seasons in red, which yielded 42 goals, before he left for Everton.

DARREN FLETCHER
09.05.2010 v Stoke City, 16.08.2010 v Newcastle United

Fletcher joined the exclusive club in 2010, as he found the net in the 4-0 defeat of Stoke on the final day in 2009/10, as well as scoring in the 3-0 beating of the Magpies on the opening day of the following Premier League term.

A real fan favourite at Old Trafford, by the time the Scot left for West Brom in 2015, he had amassed 342 United appearances across all competitions.

RYAN GIGGS
09.05.2010 v Stoke City, 16.08.2010 v Newcastle United

There are not many records which escaped this Old Trafford legend, and the Welsh wizard joined Fletcher on the scoresheet against Stoke and Newcastle, earning a place on this list.

Giggs, who filled in as caretaker United manager briefly, enjoyed an incredible 24-year spell at the club as a player, which saw him win 25 major honours with the Reds.

ROBIN VAN PERSIE
19.05.2013 v West Brom, 17.08.2013 v Swansea

RVP achieved the feat by first netting in the famous 5-5 draw at The Hawthorns at the end of the 2012/13 season, which marked Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge, as well as carrying his form into the 2013/14 campaign with an opening-day brace against Swansea.

The former Arsenal man now plays his football in Turkey with Fenerbahce but, during his stint with the Reds, he bagged 58 goals in 105 league and cup appearances.

WAYNE ROONEY
17.05.2016 v Bournemouth, 14.08.2016 v Bournemouth

Another true United great, Rooney scored both his goals in 3-1 wins over the Cherries, the first at the end of the 2015/16 season in a rearranged clash, and the second a header in 2016/17’s opener at the Vitality Stadium.

Rooney departed Old Trafford this summer to return to boyhood club Everton, ending a 13-year association with the Reds, which saw him become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 253 strikes.