Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has said it would be better for his club if Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho leaves midfielder, Paul Pogba out of his starting XI in their Premier League clash on Sunday.
Chelsea travel to Old Trafford for a crucial fixture in the race to finish in the top four.
Pogba is one of the main talking points ahead of the game, having been in and out of the Manchester United squad in recent times.
After being withdrawn after 63 minutes of United’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham in January, the French international was then dropped to the bench against Huddersfield before again being taken off midway through the second half of the defeat to Newcastle.
The former Juventus midfielder was then missing from the FA Cup win over Huddersfield due to illness and surprisingly started on the bench for the Champions League last-16 clash with Sevilla on Wednesday.
Conte insisted that he would be happy if Mourinho continues to leave out the former Juventus man.
And when asked about the Frenchman potentially being on the bench again this weekend, the Blues boss said, “We are talking about a top player, about a fantastic player.
“My expectation is to see him on the pitch, if he stays out [of the XI] it will be better.
“As I said before, we are talking about a top player. Every coach has to find the right way to manage him. But I think that Pogba is showing at United that he is a top player.”
When asked if he was surprised Pogba had been left out recently, Conte added, “I must be honest: my focus is only on Chelsea. I’m not interested on what happens with the other teams.”
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