Jamie Redknapp: Box office Pogba shows pace and power of LeBron James

Watching Paul Pogba send his header into the back of Bournemouth’s net was like seeing LeBron James leap up to the hoop.

The power, the pace, how high he gets. He was getting his head to that cross no matter what.

Sometimes Pogba is just impossible to stop. You can try to pick him up but he knows he’s bigger and stronger than you. He basically says: ‘Bring it on.’

That was what was absent under Jose Mourinho at times. Of course some will look at these rejuvenated performances from the World Cup winner and say: ‘What a disgrace Pogba is, getting his boss the sack’.

Yet Mourinho had this team playing negative football and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has immediately taken the leash off Pogba. He knows he will not receive a rollicking if he does something wrong.

Sunday’s performance showed how Solskjaer has told him not to be afraid, to get alongside Marcus Rashford and play with freedom.

So let’s give the guy the credit he deserves. Sometimes you get the sense the critics will only be happy once Pogba is out of the Premier League. Why would you want that?

Pogba is box office. He is a top quality talent and we should want him to stay.

Whether you like the dancing or not, it’s part of the game now. That’s what kids like to see as well as the goals. Let’s praise him rather than try to push him away.

Under Mourinho it seemed like he was trying to overcomplicate things, with flicks and tricks in odd areas of the pitch. Pogba is at his best when he keeps it simple, when he does the stuff he knows he is good at. His ball over the top for Romelu Lukaku’s goal was simple and beautiful.

The big test now is whether he can do it at Wembley in two weeks’ time. Go to Tottenham and do it against the side who want to fight for the title. That will be the benchmark.

Tying Declan Rice down to a new deal is a contender for being West Ham’s best bit of business in 2018.

They made big signings in the summer but this was vital. Rice is a humble boy who lives for football. He’s only 19 years old but already one of the top flight’s most impressive defensive midfielders. He deserved his new long-term deal.

Plenty of us thought Cardiff would be cut adrift in the Premier League but our mistake was underestimating Neil Warnock.

He is a man-manager who knows how to get the best out of his players. Their first away win will give them great belief and their four points picked up this week could be what sees them survive relegation in May.

Selfless Salah shows what is behind Klopp's title bid

It is Liverpool’s selflessness which is leading their title charge. To understand that you only have to take a look at Mohamed Salah’s performance against Arsenal.

For Sadio Mane’s goal, he could have decided to shoot himself. Andy Robertson’s fantastic diagonal ball was certainly inviting enough. Instead, he squared it to Mane so his team-mate could score.

Later, when Liverpool got their second penalty, Salah gifted it to Roberto Firmino so the Brazilian could complete his hat-trick. This is the mentality Jurgen Klopp has created at the club.

They aren’t a team of individuals. They are all in it together.

Don’t get me wrong, all forwards have egos and Salah would be well within his rights to have a hunger for goals after how prolific he was last season. But against Arsenal we saw his other side.

When Jurgen Klopp decides to leave Liverpool in the distant future, it is looking more and more like Steven Gerrard will be the perfect person to take over.

If he continues to develop the way he has at Rangers, then he will be a ready-made replacement.

Gerrard could have stayed at Liverpool’s academy to develop his coaching skills there but instead went to Rangers to test himself. Now look at him — fighting for the Scottish Premiership title and off the back of beating Celtic.

Watching Aboubakar Kamara argue with Aleksandar Mitrovic over who should take Fulham’s penalty brought back memories of Frank Lampard and Paolo di Canio in West Ham’s 5-4 thriller with Bradford in 2000.

Had Frank not seen sense and let his team-mate take it, I think they’d still be wrestling for the ball now.

Di Canio scored his but Kamara didn’t, and he will now want to make up for it.