Paul Pogba stars as Manchester United eliminates Chelsea from the FA Cup

Manchester United rebounded from last week’s Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain in a big way on Monday, beating Chelsea 2-0 in London on first-half goals by Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba to advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals.

United’s victory eliminated the reeling Blues from the competition and gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team a measure of revenge against the defending champions, who beat the Red Devils in last year’s final.

Here are three quick thoughts on the match.

Pogba’s resurgence continues

Of the many all-world players on display at Stamford Bridge — Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, and Gonzalo Higuain among them — Pogba was easily the best player on the field for either side.

The French World Cup winner set up Herrera’s opener, delivering a pinpoint cross on the criminally unmarked Spaniard’s head after some nifty footwork on the flank:

But Chelsea’s defense was well-positioned when Pogba raced into the box and added his side’s second goal later in the first half off a powerful header. The hosts were either unable or unwilling to prevent the central midfielder from racing into a seam to meet Marcus Rashford’s delivery from the right:

It was the latest in a string of fine performances from Pogba since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December, and this might have been the best of them all.

Maurizio Sarri’s seat just got even hotter

If Maurizio Sarri’s days at Chelsea appeared numbered before this one, he might have been tempted to pack a bag or two when he returned home after it.

You have to feel for the Italian manager. Chelsea started off brightly on this night, with Hazard, Higuan, David Luiz, Pedro, all squandering decent chances before Herrera’s opener. Had one of those gone in, the outcome could’ve been different.

The Sarri era started off well enough, with the Blues unbeaten through his first 18 games across all competitions. Ever since a 3-0 loss to London rival Tottenham in November, though, Chelsea has looked like a shadow of its former self.

Defeats against Arsenal, Manchester City and tiny Bournemouth by a combined score of 12-0 already had Sarri on the hot seat, with former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane the bookies’ favorite to take over. After yet another shutout loss to an English rival, this time at home, nobody would bet against Sarri being shown the door in short order.

United rebounds from Solskjaer’s first loss in a big way

It would’ve been easy for the visitors to go into this match short on confidence after last week’s 2-0 defeat at home to PSG that snapped Solskjaer’s 11-game unbeaten run and all but ended his side’s Champions League ambitions this season.

Instead, the Red Devils showed up with extra resolve. They held firm during the hosts’ the early onslaught and slowly but surely began to take charge of the contest. By the time the first half was over, United’s counterattack had produced five shots on goal, more than twice as many as Chelsea. The Blues wouldn’t manage a single on-target effort for the rest of the match.

This felt like a statement game from Manchester United and from Solskjaer, especially with title favorites Liverpool on the docket next. The Reds might be favored in that match, but United let it be known on Monday that it won’t go quietly the rest of the way.

Doug McIntyre covers soccer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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