Paul Pogba is Manchester United's captain fantastic in opening-day win over Leicester

Paul Pogba sent out a message to his critics with a stunning display to fire Manchester United to victory on the opening day of the new Premier League season.

The World Cup winner has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford and criticised by manager Jose Mourinho having previously failed to justify his price tag.

Mourinho suggested his match-winning displays for France this summer in Russia were perhaps a result of less distractions that have affected his development in Manchester.

But he answered all those questions by netting in a 2-1 win over Leicester City and putting in the kind of shift that Red Devils fans have been waiting a long time to see.

Most supporters had barely taken their seats when Andre Marriner pointed to the spot inside the opening few minutes.

Alexis Sanchez’s firm strike hit the arm of Daniel Armartey and the referee determined that it was no accident.

The camera lenses all focused on Pogba as he took a bizarre run up, taking about 15 tiny steps, before smashing it home.

It was anything but conventional and showcased the arrogance but also the brilliance of Pogba that have marked his second spell in Manchester after returning from Juventus.

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Leicester had their moments and new signing James Maddison forced a magnificent save from David de Gea in the United goal.

Luke Shaw started the match at left-back for the Red Devils and he came close to scoring his first ever goal in professional football but Kasper Schmeichel stood firm.

That kept the lead at a single goal at the interval but boss Mourinho would have been pleased with what he saw after his side’s disastrous pre-season tour of America.

There were even glimpses of the attacking football that the crowd craves at the Theatre of Dreams and Pogba was showing just why he was one of the stars of Russia 2018.

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Much has been made of Mourinho’s search for a centre-back in the final hours of transfer deadline day but this opening game highlighted one player who can certainly fit the bill.

Eric Bailly missed a large part of last season through injury but if he can stay fit this year then, on this showing at least, he can be a real rock at the heart of the defence.

Juan Mata could have doubled the advantage when his shot was deflected wide following another blockbuster long pass from Pogba and neat work from Alexis Sanchez.

At the other end, Demarai Gray gave the home fans a reminder that the Foxes were not going to accept defeat without a fight by testing De Gea once more.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku really should have wrapped it up with a late chance but Schmeichel did not blink when confronted with the big striker in a one-on-one.

The hulking forward was denied but there was still time for Shaw, thwarted earlier by the Danish keeper, to steal in and finally open his goalscoring account and complete the job.

Not even an injury-time consolation from Jamie Vardy could take the smile off Mourinho’s face as his side made an early statement of intent.

Star man – Paul Pogba

Mourinho named Pogba as Manchester United captain for this match in what appears to be an attempt to bury the hatchet with the player.

The 25-year-old won the World Cup with France this summer but questions have been hanging over his future at the club following weeks of speculation.

Mino Raiola, Pogba’s agent, is understood to have offered the midfielder to Barcelona in an attempt to force through a big-money transfer.

Barca are said to have reached a personal agreement with him and you can see why he is in demand after this performance – not to mention why United don’t want to sell.

He has all the attributes to be one of the greatest players ever to pull on the red shirt but he needs to replicate this performance more often than not.

Pogba went missing in games too many times last season but the confidence he showed against Leicester is a promising sign for what lies ahead in 2018/19 at Old Trafford.

Match reaction

Leicester boss Claude Puel said: “We conceded an early goal, it was harsh. It was not a good result but it’s a good performance. We gave our best, it was a difficult team against a great team. We deserved a different result.”

Man United boss Mourinho said: “”It’s important to win and play well, we played well in periods against a good team that invest more than us. We must get used to teams who have players of the same quality that we have. Every team is a good team, forget the name, forget the history, forget the shirt.”

United’s star man Pogba added: “We should start the Premier League with a win and we did. I didn’t have any pre-season games, I came back on Monday so it was very hard for the legs. We played very well, the performance was OK. We want to go up.”