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Paul Pogba 'laughed with referee' Jon Moss when facing a possible red card in Manchester United's 4-0 win vs Swansea

Pogba's two fouls in four minutes nearly led to a second booking, but the United midfielder claims he did not think he would ever be sent-off for the challenge on Martin Olsson

Jack de Menezes
Saturday 19 August 2017 15:36 BST
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Paul Pogba appeals against receiving a booking after fouling Leroy Fer in Manchester United's win over Swansea
Paul Pogba appeals against receiving a booking after fouling Leroy Fer in Manchester United's win over Swansea

Paul Pogba called on Manchester United to maintain their strong start to the Premier League season after recording a second 4-0 victory in as many weeks, and admitted that he “laughed” when facing the possibility of a first-half red card.

United scored three second-half goals in four minutes through Romelu Lukaku, Pogba and Anthony Martial, which added to Eric Bailly’s first-half opener to send Jose Mourinho’s side three points clear at the top of the table ahead of the rest of the second weekend programme.

It could have been a very different story for Pogba though, as two rather rash fouls in the first half nearly ended his day prematurely.

The first saw him cynically hack down midfielder Tom Carroll in the 26th minute for which referee Jon Moss showed him a yellow card, and just four minutes later, the France international caught Swansea left-back Martin Olsson late as he clipped his ankle.

The home fans called for Pogba to be shown a second yellow card, but Moss gave him the benefit of a final warning and the club-record £89m signing admitted afterwards that he never feared being sent off for the challenge.

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"The first one is a yellow card,” accepted Pogba, speaking to Sky Sports after the match. “The second one, no. I was not worried. The referee came to talk to me and I laughed with him, I said 'Are you serious?'"

Instead, Pogba was on hand to help seal the victory, with his deft chip over Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski adding the third before Martial completed the rout, both of whom also getting on the scoresheet in the 4-0 win over West Ham.

Pogba called on his teammates to maintain this strong start to the season to maximise their Premier League title challenge,

“The game was a very good result, a 4-0 again,” he added. “We have to carry on like this. This season we are more confident, everybody knows each other very well.”

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