Paul Pogba primed and ready for Manchester United’s Sevilla test

• Midfielder may return to side for Champions League first leg
• ‘Mourinho is a pioneer in training methodology,’ says Montella

The cameras were out late at Carrington on Tuesday morning and so was Paul Pogba, which was one way of announcing that the Frenchman should be fit to play in Seville. But José Mourinho said it was “unfair” to load him with the responsibility for carrying Manchester United to the phase of the competition where teams start to believe they can actually win it and stopped short of saying he would start. Instead, he had set up a response before he and his players flew to Spain, one that he did not clarify upon arrival in Andalucia.

Normally the media is allowed in to film the first 15 minutes of training before Champions League ties – meaningless minutes in which the only thing anyone sees is players jogging round the pitch, stretching or knocking the ball back and forth with little real purpose – but this time access was granted towards the end of the session. And that, Mourinho said, provided an objective view of the condition of his players, including Pogba who he had been frustrated not to be able to field against Huddersfield. What Mourinho did not provide was a definitive answer when he was asked if the midfielder would start.

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