Pogba: The result we all wanted

Paul Pogba was rightly pleased with his performance, and the team's display, after Manchester United recorded a comfortable victory in the opening Champions League game against Young Boys.

The United skipper broke the deadlock with a tremendous strike from open play after 35 minutes and he doubled the Reds' advantage just before the break, when he coolly fired home from the spot. Speaking to MUTV after the game, the French midfielder reflected on his contributions to the cause and discussed how his side had to battle in order to topple the hosts in the first half.

“Yeah, I am happy,” he said. “Very happy to score, very happy to help my team and very happy with the result as well. We had the result that we all wanted. It was a very good start for us and we have to carry on like this.

”We were not in trouble, but they were more aggressive,“ he added, reflecting on Young Boys' threat in the early stages of the game.

”They were winning the second ball and stuff like that, so they were there and they put their foot in. For us to score the first goal was a big breakdown for them, as they didn't expect this and it was good for us for our confidence and after that we scored the second one. We made the difference like this with our experience. Individually we did great as well, so that is what we wanted.“

Pogba had no doubts when it came to taking his penalty, despite missing from the spot against Burnley in the Premier League recently. The midfielder outlined how he had been entrusted by the manager and his team-mates before stepping up after the referee awarded the kick.

“I had no doubt about taking the penalty,” Pogba said. “I know I missed that one, but I told him [Jose Mourinho] I won't do the same mistake this time. I had the confidence of the players as well, they let me take it too, so I thank them for this and I thank the manager. The most important thing was to put the ball in and that's what happened, so I'm happy.”

Pogba wasn't the only United star who shone at Stade de Suisse as Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot made an eye-catching first senior appearance for the Reds.

“For a debut he did really well,” assessed the Frenchman. “He suited the team and I'm very happy to see him play like that. All the players were all really proud of him.”

United's next three matches in Europe will be against La Liga side Valencia and Italian champions Juventus, with the Reds meeting the latter in back-to-back fixtures. Three points are already in the bag but Pogba stresses there won't be any resting on laurels in the bid to reach the knockout stages of the competition.

“We started with three points, that's the most important thing,” Pogba added. “We know that we have the bigger teams coming up and we're going to have to get the result that we want, because we are playing in the Champions League and it's for top teams only. Obviously it's not going to be easy, but we've got to get through this group.”