Solskjaer pleased to have Pogba back in his Man Utd side.

World Cup winner Pogba came off the bench to help United secure a draw against Spurs.

Solskjaer says Pogba played the pass of the match. [Getty]

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United deserved three points after they played out a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Friday. The Norwegian also heaped praise on Paul Pogba after the midfielder came off the bench and put in an impressive display in United' first competitive fixture since the suspension of football due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Pogba won a penalty, which Bruno Fernandes converted in the 81st minute to cancel out a first-half strike from Steven Bergwijn. It was the Frenchman’s first match since his foot injury on December 26, however, the United boss feels the 27-year-old can have a fresh start at Old Trafford. "I think the performance in the second half deserved a point, or three points. The players that came on I thought made a difference," Solskjaer told Sky Sports. "Of course Paul's contribution is there to be seen – he played the pass of the day when he played Marcus [Rashford] through, then had the skill of the day when he won the penalty.

More: Los Blancos great Ronaldo can see similarities between himself and Mbappe. "Paul's one of the best in the world and it's great to have him back. It's good to give him minutes and he will work hard to get even fitter for the next time, to play even more. "He's delighted to be back on the pitch. He's had a nine or 10-month injury nightmare. It's not like he's been out for 10 months. He's almost come back, work hard, work hard, and then gets injured again. "He was close to coming back before the lockdown and now finally he’s back playing. I'm sure everyone can see he has a great hunger for the game and is a very good footballer." Asked if this could be a fresh start for the former Juve star, the 47-year-old replied: "I think so. "Coming into this team, it's a different team to the one he left with his injury. Bruno has come in, the boys have got some momentum before the lockdown and we are more confident, even though for the first 45 minutes we doubted ourselves too much. "The boys need to trust themselves more, trust their own fitness. They have worked so incredibly hard, and I think we saw second half that we were fit and can keep on running."

On finding the right balance in his team, Solskjaer said: “We’re a club that wants the best players in the world playing together. We just need to find a balance of attacking and defending. That's always a key word when you set a team up there and I think today Paul showed he can play with Bruno. Paul got a penalty for us and Bruno scored the goal.”

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