Chelsea host Manchester United tonight in the final FA Cup fifth-round tie and Chelsea are likely to beat Manchester United if N’Golo Kante gets the better of Paul Pogba. That is according to Alan Shearer, who believes Paris Saint-Germain have revealed the weak point in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s system. Pogba been in superb form since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in mid-December.
The Frenchman was man-marked by PSG star Marquinhos in last Tuesday’s Champions League defeat and Shearer believes Kante must do a similar job if Chelsea are to stop the Red Devils. “Paris Saint-Germain showed last Tuesday how you can beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side,” he told The Sun.
“And we know Chelsea have the ability to play like PSG — it’s just whether they want to. The French side nullified United by getting Marquinhos to sit on Paul Pogba. That stopped him playing and dictating the pace of the game. So if Chelsea can stop Pogba, they will have a very good chance of winning and that means the battle between N’Golo Kante and his France team-mate is going to be crucial to the outcome of the game.”
Alexis Sanchez has not enjoyed a similar return to form experienced by Pogba in the Solskjaer era. The former Arsenal forward is in contention to feature from the off at Stamford Bridge and Shearer has warned Sanchez it is time to deliver. “It is also going to be a big night for Alexis Sanchez, who could start for United because Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial are both out with injuries,” he said.
“Sanchez said at the weekend how he ‘needs to show it right now’ — and he does. He is basically the only United player who has not improved since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho. So it is about time he stepped up and started showing the form we saw at Arsenal. Sanchez might be struggling at United because he has not been afforded the kind of freedom he got under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.”
“He could basically do what he wanted — go left, right or down the middle and if he lost the ball, people would cover for him. Since he arrived at Old Trafford last year, Sanchez has had to play in a more structured system — but that should not be an excuse. With his undoubted ability, Sanchez’s performances have to be a hell of a lot better than what we have seen so far.”