Football
ESPN staff 7y

Paul Pogba: Playing against brother Florentin was 'something magic'

Manchester United star Paul Pogba said facing off against his older brother Florentin of St Etienne in Thursday's Europa League game was "something magic."

With their mother Yeo wearing half-and-half tops in the stands, the Pogba bothers were on opposing sides for the first time in a competitive match as United ran out 3-0 winners with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hat trick.

They walked out of the tunnel together and embraced before kickoff, again when Florentin hobbled off in the second half and once more after the final whistle.

Asked what it was like to play against his brother, Paul Pogba told MUTV: "Something magic. I just couldn't believe it when I saw him. We started laughing and just said to enjoy the moment. It doesn't happen every day.

"It's good. We wanted to win, to score goals and we did. It will be easier for us in the next game but it's not finished."

There was one occasion in the first half when the ball went directly from Paul to Florentin, who helped launch a St Etienne counter-attack.

But the St Etienne player's night ended when he was forced off by injury in the 79th minute to cap a frustrating evening. 

"We're leaving with three goals conceded. The return game is going to be very difficult," he told beIN Sports.

"We have a bit of regret after the first half we had. We had shooting opportunities but we didn't hit the target. We played very well in the first half but we should have played those situations better.

"Manchester were effective -- that's the mark of a great team. While the game is still to be played, we must believe, even if we know it will be very difficult."

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