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Paul Pogba was the star of the show for Manchester United after they came from behind to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night.

Despite falling behind to Fulham in the first half after Ademola Lookman opened the scoring, the Red Devils hit back with two goals either side of halftime to reclaim top spot in the Premier League.

Alphonse Areola made a costly mistake after he gifted his former Paris St-Germain teammate Edinson Cavani the equaliser, before Pogba broke Fulham’s hearts with a superb winner.

Pogba inspired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to victory and scored a sensational screamer to wrap up all three points for United who moved back up to first place in the league table with the win.

The Frenchman has now started each of United’s past five Premier League games in a row and was instrumental in the win, with Solskjaer’s side extending their unbeaten run to 17 games in the top flight this season so far.

Solskjaer was evidently delighted with his character and resilience as he helped his side fend off a spirited Fulham.

“I am very happy with his performances,” Solskjaer said.

“I know what he can do. He does everything. Now he is putting all the elements together in his performances and it is great to see.

“It was about getting him fit. He is enjoying his football, he is happy and physically in a good shape.”

The 27-year-old, who earns around £290,000-per-week at Old Trafford, has formed a formidable partnership with Bruno Fernandes, with the Portugal international lofting a teasing cross into the box, only for the ball to be spilled by goalkeeper Areola at the feet of Cavani, who tapped in the equaliser to level the score.

However, Cavani’s fourth away goal of the season was overshadowed by Pogba’s moment of magic, cutting in from the right flank and firing a left-footed drive past the helpless Areola from 20 yards out.

United have often come to rely on Fernandes, with the 26-year-old bagging 27 goals and 17 assists in 50 appearances for the club across all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

But Pogba was by far their biggest attacking threat against Fulham as he played Scott Parker’s side off the park, and it allowed them to build on Cavani’s goal to make it a comfortable win.

The France international glided around the middle of the park, with the £58.5m-rated midfield dynamo taking more touches (106) than Cavani and Fernandes, as per SofaScore, picking the right moments to keep it short and simple or burst into the box, providing one key pass and six crosses from ten attempts.

He also topped the charts in terms of individual battles, winning six out of his 11 ground duels and two aerial duels (100%), which exceeded his season average of 4.4 ground duels and 2 aerial duels per game, with his teammate Eric Bailly (6) a distant second, per SofaScore.

On top of this, the French midfielder made the most tackles (4) and interceptions (3) out of any United player on the pitch, was only dribbled past once, and made one clearance as well, which shows that he contributed defensively as well.

AND in other news, Manchester United should sign David Brooks…

Liverpool’s defensive woes increased on Thursday night despite their win against Tottenham Hotspur, as Fabinho was ruled out of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium through injury.

The Brazilian has been one of the Reds’ most important players so far this season, as he has stepped up in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez by taking on the role of centre-back.

In his 17 appearances in the top-flight so far this season, the 27-year-old has averaged a solid 6.92 rating and has been the only centre-back in Klopp’s squad to feature more than ten times in the Premier League, due to Joel Matip’s inconsistent fitness and the German manager’s rotation of Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams.

Whilst the former Monaco man, who reportedly earns £100k per week at Liverpool, was exposed somewhat in recent fixtures against Burnley and Manchester United, he is still an incredibly important part of this Liverpool side at the moment and looks much more comfortable at centre-back than fellow defensive-midfielder Jordan Henderson, who has also featured in defence in recent fixtures.

Therefore, whilst the length of Fabinho’s injury is currently unknown, his setback must be the catalyst for the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to act in the remaining days of the January transfer window, as it seems clear that Klopp is desperate for a centre-back.

Following the game with Spurs, the former Borussia Dortmund boss provided an update on Fabinho, saying:

“It was nothing really. He just felt something and we had to take him out. And now he’s out.

“It was not a challenge or whatever, it was not intense situations. It was just how things happen.”

He also suggested in his post-match conference that Liverpool were looking for ‘the right player’ to bring in before next Monday’s deadline, so it seems as the Reds could well dip into the transfer market after all, although they are running out of time to complete a deal.

Earlier this week, the makeshift centre-back was praised by Thiago, who dubbed him an “amazing player”, whether he’s playing in defence or in midfield.

Certainly, if Fabinho’s injury does prove to be a long-term one, then the Liverpool board must surely see sense and bring in a defender, otherwise, they run the risk of falling a long way short of retaining the Premier League title.

And, in other news… Forget Trent: LFC “machine” who made four key passes was Klopp’s star vs Spurs

The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Joe Urquhart has confirmed via Marcelo Bielsa’s pre-match press conference that Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich is “fine” for tonight’s game against Wolves.

What’s the word?

Leeds have been hit by a minor injury crisis as Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo are still out, which has left Marcelo Bielsa with his options tested, but it seems Klich will be available for selection after playing through the pain barrier during Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal.

And as well as Urquhart’s reveal, the midfielder himself delivered a positive update on his fitness situation earlier in the week.

“It’s getting better,” the 30-year-old recently told BBC Radio Leeds. “I had some struggles with my hip, but it should be fine.”

He downplayed the problem, however, when asked if it was causing him any further issues.

“Hard to say, because I was on painkillers, but it wasn’t that bad,” he added. “It’s not something that was a very big issue. But obviously every little pain is just annoying and it doesn’t really help but that wasn’t the reason why I couldn’t play better.

“I could say not, but at the back of your head you always know there is something not 100 per cent right but as I said, it’s nothing big and it’s not an excuse.”

Huge boost for Marcelo Bielsa

The timing couldn’t be better for Bielsa as their first game following the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates draws ever nearer.

The Whites will be desperate to return to winning ways when they take on Wolves at Molineux on Friday night, and they will be buoyed by the presence of one of their most reliable and consistent performers over the past couple of seasons.

Just like Leeds, Klich has made quite the promising start to life in the Premier League, having made 23 top-flight appearances in total this term with three goals and five assists to show for his 21 starts.

His five assists this season sees him ranked joint-first out of the entire Leeds squad together with the likes of regular starters Patrick Bamford and Raphinha.

You’d imagine his ongoing recovery, therefore, will be a huge boost to a Leeds side that have arguably struggled at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks.

But the box-to-box midfielder’s presence should be very welcome as he is no stranger to tracking back and breaking up attacks, showing he is willing to put the hard graft in to deny opponents, as evidenced by his 1.1 tackles per game in the Premier League.

Working under Bielsa’s watchful eye, Klich will no doubt continue to be a key component for the Whites as they aim to push further up the table.

It’s exactly why the Leeds boss will be breathing a sigh of relief that his midfield man is seemingly okay for tonight’s game against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

Leeds United were unable to recreate their emphatic 3-0 victory over Aston Villa earlier this season as they fell to defeat at Elland Road. The Saturday fixture was a disappointing slump for the home side, who were hit by an early Anwar El Ghazi goal.

The goal came after just five minutes of play and it set the tone for the remainder of the match. Leeds struggled to get into the swing of things and managed just three shots on target for the full 90 minutes. Despite having the most possession (69%), the Whites were on the back foot from early on and failed to come out with any sort of result.

Marcelo Bielsa will be frustrated with the performance of many of his players, but arguably none more than Helder Costa, whom he handed a rare start to.

Helder Costa disappointed vs Aston Villa

The right-winger has been battling for his position on the pitch since Raphinha arrived at Elland Road last summer. Costa has started just nine Premier League fixtures out of Leeds’ 26 played so far, as per Transfermarkt. He has been inconsistent throughout this campaign but picked up his form in more recent matches as he contributed a goal against Arsenal and an assist against Southampton.

Costa started his first match since November on Sunday, filling in for Jack Harrison who was demoted to the bench. However, in what should have been an opportunity to grab with both hands, he failed to seize his opportunity.

According to Sofascore, the £70,000 per week wide man made just 12 successful passes and took 29 touches. This is fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who made 24 passes and took 33 touches. This is a hugely worrying number for a man who had the whole right flank to dominate. Costa is supposed to be pulling the strings from out wide and assisting Patrick Bamford with the attacking threat. But Saturday was a huge flop for the Portugal international and he failed to make an impact in attempting to break down the Villa defence.

Bielsa will be frustrated with the fact that he put faith in Costa and he let him down. It won’t be surprising if he is demoted to the bench once again against West Ham, with Harrison returning in his place.

In other news, Leeds target Nicolas N’Koulou commits fewer fouls than Cooper & Koch…

Many Liverpool fans have been reacting to fresh reports suggesting that Lille midfielder Renato Sanches looks to be on his way to Anfield this summer.

This came from CalcioMercato, who revealed that the 23-year-old is destined for a move to Merseyside as they look to take advantage of a cost-cutting exercise from the Ligue 1 club. One fan described this news as ‘absolutely shocking’.

Sanches has only scored once and provided one assist in 20 appearances having picked up a number of injuries during the 2020/21 campaign. The Portugal international has missed a total of 12 games due to various muscle issues.

It has been well documented how much Liverpool have struggled this season themselves with constant first-team setbacks, which has seen them drop to sixth in the table having won the Premier League title last season.

Unsurprisingly, supporters were not willing to welcome someone to the club who has suffered as many setbacks as Sanches has, making their feelings clear to The Anfield Buzz on Twitter.

Sanches puts off these fans

“Nah, the sick bay is full.”

Credit: @MugumeDarren

“Oh god please no… we need quality and not another injury-prone player who has good and bad games in turns”

Credit: @01mJulian

“Oh god not another one”

Credit: @GeorgeLFC25

“Absolutely shocking”

Credit: @bruicosta

“Bang average at best and we can’t keep signing players who are made out of Weetabix! ox, Keita, Matip, Gomez and Shaq to name a few”

Credit: @oohmoz1

“Another overrated and expensive sick note”

Credit: @darrensmith999

In other news, Liverpool fans accused club of masking truth after training ground images emerged.

Arsenal could sign their own Virgil van Dijk in RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate.

What’s the story?

According to The Evening Standard, Mikel Arteta’s side are one of a number of clubs tracking the 21-year-old ahead of a potential move for him in the summer transfer window.

The reports claims that Konate is being scouted by sides all across Europe in the hope that he could be made available for a transfer, with the Gunners one of those teams as they consider bringing in another centre-back.

It is added however that “they would be expected to face competition from several of Europe’s top sides”.

Arsenal’s own Van Dijk

For all of Liverpool’s attacking success in recent seasons with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, the real cornerstone for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side has of course been Virgil van Dijk.

The towering Dutchman arrived in a big-money deal from Southampton, and has helped them to both a Premier League and Champions League title.

Much like Van Dijk, Konate is also a powerful centre-back, coming in at an imposing 6 foot 4.

And, Bundesliga.com themselves have made that comparison between Konate and Van Dijk, saying he plays a bit like the Dutchman. They added: “Likening Konate to one of the best centre-backs in recent times may seem like a premature comparison. It’s not. There are few in the position who excel at so many aspects of the game as the young Frenchman.

“Whether it be in terms of positioning, sticking tight to the striker, intercepting passes, tackling or building from the back, Konate cannot just do it all, he makes it look easy. He has the pace to match the quickest of attackers and the physique to bully – rather than be bullied by – muscular strikers much more experienced than he is.”

Ralf Rangnick spoke glowingly about Konate’s ability and potential, saying: “We’ve been watching Ibrahima Konate for some time. He’s a young, highly-gifted player who’ll strengthen our defence. We’re very happy to have been able to bring in this top talent and that Ibrahima can take the next step in his career here.”

If the Gunners can land Konate, who looks as physically dominant and gifted with the ball like Van Dijk, they could well have their own powerhouse in the middle of defence next season. It would truly be an Edu masterclass, especially given that they are reported to face competition for him.

If he goes on to have an impact anywhere close to what Van Dijk has at Anfield, he’ll be an unbelievably good signing for the Gunners.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano claims Arsenal are interested in this Premier League starlet…

Following their heroics in the Manchester derby at the weekend, Manchester United have a crunch European tie to look forward to against AC Milan.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men welcome the Italian giants to Old Trafford for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 meeting on Thursday.

Will the Norwegian be tempted to stick or twist for the match especially with the Red Devils still challenging on three fronts?

We are not predicting sweeping changes from Solskjaer for the game considering the tough level of opposition, with potentially just two changes in store.

Dean Henderson will continue in goal in the extended absence of David de Gea. The usual No.1 is still back in his home country following the birth of his child.

In defence, English trio Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka should all remain after their impressive showings at the weekend. However, one alteration could occur at centre-back with Eric Bailly replacing Victor Lindelof. The Swede has only just made his return to the starting line-up from a back injury so might not yet be ready to start two matches in just a couple of days.

Elsewhere, midfield duo Fred and Scott McTominay are likely to start once again, with the irrepressible Bruno Fernandes deployed just ahead.

However, there will certainly be another change to the forward line as both Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford are on the sidelines. The former was ruled out at the Etihad Stadium so Daniel James should continue in his place.

Meanwhile, £72m-rated forward Rashford should be replaced by fellow academy graduate Mason Greenwood after sustaining a knock on his ankle against City.

AND in more news, take a look at how Diogo Dalot could send a stark reminder to Manchester United and Solskjaer as he returns to Old Trafford on Thursday…

In a recent interview, former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan discussed Joe Gelhardt’s chances of becoming the surprise replacement for Patrick Bamford on Friday if the latter cannot get over his knock.

Since joining Leeds from Wigan Athletic last summer, Gelhardt has been in rather remarkable form for the club’s U23 side, scoring eight goals and providing three assists over his 14 appearances in the Premier League 2.

However, despite his impressive form for the youth side, the £5,100 per week centre-forward has still yet to make his first-team debut for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Although, with Patrick Bamford picking up an injury in the club’s recent 0-0 draw with Chelsea, and, at present, the 27-year-old remaining a slight doubt for the upcoming clash with Fulham, Gelhardt could theoretically be in line to replace the striker in Bielsa’s starting XI.

However, speaking recently to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that he couldn’t imagine the 18-year-old being thrown in at the deep end by Bielsa this Friday, suggesting that Rodrigo could be played in a more advanced role instead.

He said: “I’m not sure if he will [start]. We’ll probably see him more on the bench, but while we still need points to guarantee safety, I can’t see that actually happening.

“I think you’ve got to go for experience and tried and trusted players in Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts, depending on which way they want to play it and which way round they want it.

“It’ll be hard to justify a £29 million player sitting on the bench for a teenager who hasn’t had any game time for Leeds United.

“It’s a massive loss losing Patrick and it was a massive risk. We knew that from two years ago when he was our only striker and he’s done so well not getting injured until now.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Indeed, considering Bielsa’s apparent reluctance to field Gelhardt previously this season, it would be a surprising turn of events if the 65-year-old suddenly changes his mind and opts to throw the teenager in from the start against Fulham.

However, considering how impressive Gelhardt has been for the U23 side this term, perhaps he does deserve a chance in the first team, something which would also bring the benefit of allowing Bamford more time to recover from his knock.

In other news: Leeds are ‘thinking seriously’ about making this key addition – find out more here!

Wolves legend Steve Bull has called for the club sign Burnley star Dwight McNeil this summer, in an exclusive with Football FanCast.

McNeil has enjoyed another impressive season for the Clarets, standing out as a creative talent in a team known for being relatively one-dimensional.

The 21-year-old has chipped in with two goals and three assists in the Premier League in 2020/21 to date, catching the eye with his left foot, not least when he scored a screamer at Everton recently.

Wolves have been linked with a move for McNeil in the past and it could be that the English youngster wants a fresh challenge ahead of next season.

Bull wants Wolves to sign McNeil

Someone who views the Burnley midfielder as a great option for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side is Bull, saying his development could be sped up at Molineux:

“It’s very rare that talented players like that go under the radar, Leicester found one in James Maddison. So, yeah all day long I’d take him.

“Put him in a good side full of talented and skilful players like we’ve got and it might bring him on leaps and bounds.

“So, you never know what might happen but, any new kids on the block will be good for the club.”

Transfer Tavern take

McNeil is a footballer with huge potential, and with all due respect to Burnley, he could thrive more in a team with similarly creative players.

The thought of him dovetailing with the likes of Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence is a mouthwatering one, so Wolves should listen to Bull and consider a move for the Clarets youngster, especially with Adama Traore having such an unproductive season.

In other news, journalist Joe Edwards has provided a key injury update on one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has revealed his admiration for Burnley’s Josh Brownhill, a player he would love to see at Villa Park in the near future.

Brownhill has been a regular in Sean Dyche’s side this season, and it appears that his displays have not gone unnoticed, with a couple of Premier League clubs now said to be circling.

According to TEAMtalk, one of those clubs is Aston Villa, who have been scouting the 25-year-old midfielder in recent months.

For Hendrie, Brownhill would be a great addition to Dean Smith’s squad, more so than Sheffield United’s Sander Berge — another midfielder currently being linked with a move to Villa Park.

Discussing Villa’s reported interest in Brownhill in an exclusive interview with FFC, Hendrie said:

“Josh Brownhill, I think he is a fabulous player, I really do. Out of [Sander] Berge and him, I’d take Brownhill all day just because Josh Brownhill reminds me of John McGinn.

“He’s very energetic, he’s very neat and tidy on the ball, he gets up and down the pitch well and you know what you’re getting when you’re getting a player from Burnley, Sean Dyche, what he expects. And, obviously, he’s proved that he can do this step up, coming from Bristol City, so I’d certainly take him all day.”

McGinn has been one of Villa’s standout players since joining the club from Scottish outfit Hibernian back in 2018, having a huge impact in the middle of the park for them.

The Scotland international scored seven goals and provided nine assists during Villa’s successful 2018/19 Championship campaign, helping them earn a return to English football’s top flight. If the Villans do sign Brownhill and he ends up performing at a level close to McGinn’s, then they would have certainly acquired a very useful player.