Onus on Pogba Ahead of Juventus' Mountainous Munich Mission

You’d be forgiven for questioning how Juventus were still in this contest had you stopped watching the first-leg prior to the hour mark. Bayern Munich were more than good value for their 2-0 lead and looked to have the tie perfectly set up to ease into the quarter-finals in front of their home fans on Wednesday night.

Had you then returned to hear Pep Guardiola declare the result as one of the best games of his life, you wouldn’t have been the only one to presume Bayern had continued their onslaught in the final 30 minutes to kill the tie completely.

However, while Guardiola was right to marvel at the way in which his side had just turned over one of Europe’s greatest clubs for 60 minutes, his adulation in the performance was perhaps merely to deflect from the fact his side had just unravelled to allow Juventus to claw back an unlikely 2-2 draw and give themselves a slither of hope when they travel to the Allianz Arena for the second-leg.

Even still the odds are stacked against Massimiliano Allegri’s men. Bayern have won their last nine European matches on home soil at an aggregate score of 36-4. To add to Juventus’ woes, they will be without Claudio Marchisio, Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini for the trip to Munich, while former Bayern striker Mario Mandzukic could miss out.

It’s going to require Juventus to pull off one of the finest displays in recent Champions League history for Allegri’s men to progress, and as you look through those that are still available for the Old Lady , it’s clear to see whom all her hopes are pined on. For Paul Pogba, superstardom has accompanied his career since he left the Manchester United academy.

It often feels like Pogba raising the Ballon d’Or aloft, his latest haircut or what former professional he has just hit the ‘dab’ with are often talked about more than his actual performances. While there is no doubting the talent he possesses, and there is a lot of it, his outings by and large are yet to vindicate the world-record sums that are often mooted with a potential move away from Juventus.

The start of the season was particularly hard for Pogba, as it was for the entire squad as they suffered their worst start to a league campaign in nearly 30 years. But it was evident - perhaps more so in Pogba’s performances - that he was struggling to come to terms playing without Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo, who all left that summer.

Not only that, but Pogba had just taken on Juventus’ iconic No.10 jersey and the added responsibility was clearly weighing on the shoulders of a young man desperately looking to live up to his own billing and those that have previously been trusted with the famous number.

Pogba’s performances have certainly improved since the start of the season, although it is perhaps damning, for a man in his position, that fans share videos of his skills more than rave about another dominant performance from start to finish.

Before Juventus went on a staggering run of 15 straight wins in Serie A, Pogba only had one goal and one assist to show for his 10 league appearances. His shot accuracy in that time (29.4%) was far worse than the previous season (42.9%) and he ranked as low as 32nd for dribble success rate (65.2%) in Serie A, having finished the 2014/15 campaign as the most prolific dribbler from the 37 players to have attempted 75 or more dribbles (73.8%) last season.

The France international, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on the eve of their match against Bayern, has weighed in with four goals and as many assists in the resulting 19 league matches, although his best performances have been saved for the Champions League this season. In fact, Pogba is Juventus’ highest rated player according to WhoScored in Europe thus far (7.56), but it doesn’t change the fact he is without a goal in UEFA’s premier competition for more than 16 months (1,106 minutes without a goal).

While few have given Juventus any real chance of overcoming Bayern, the stage is set perfectly for Pogba to re-announce himself as the dominant midfielder he has been billed up to be. With Juventus short of some of their most important players, the onus is well and truly on Pogba for if the Old Lady is to salvage any sort of decent result at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

Is there any way Juventus can overcome Bayern Munich? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below