Paul Pogba did not deserve abuse from Manchester United fans but he did not help himself

Saturday was not the nadir of Paul Pogba's season. It was not even in the bottom five. Leicester away, Atalanta away, the catastrophic cameo against Liverpool, Atletico Madrid away and Tottenham at home were all worse.

Bruno Fernandes was worse against Norwich. His already dismal form has nosedived since he received an unnecessary and untimely salary hike and it was Fernandes's carelessness that prompted Manchester United supporters to chant 'you're not fit to wear the shirt'. At least two United matchgoers of 50-odd years had never heard that aired by United followers at United players until Saturday.

Fernandes should have been hooked instead of Jesse Lingard, visibly vexed by his harsh withdrawal. Alex Telles, a player with seemingly no interest in how United fare as long as he gets his quota of games to stay in the Brazil squad, barely perspired on a day so sunny it could have been mistaken for August.

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In the first-half, Pogba quickly went viral with a trap-and-nutmeg the nearby Fernandes applauded. United were cruising when ahead and so was Pogba. Not long before Pogba was withdrawn, he won the ball on the edge of his own area, dribbled past another opponent and sprayed the ball to Telles to start a counter-attack, deservedly earning a round of applause.

Last month, Pogba complained: "At United, do I really have a role? I ask the question and I don't have the answer." Whatever his role is, it is not defensive midfield, never mind the sole holding midfielder. That risky remit backfired against the Premier League's competition winners from the Championship.

Ralf Rangnick protected the benched Nemanja Matic with Anfield in mind, especially if Scott McTominay and Fred