However, things could have been so different in front of the capacity crowd in Bern.
Young Boys dominated the first 30 minutes of Wednesday's Champions League clash and did themselves proud, but United and especially Pogba's quality shone through.
They certainly created the better openings at the beginning of the game. Former Newcastle right back Kevin Mbabu was in imperious form, rampaging up the right wing and Guillaume Hoarau should have done better with his header, which was well wide of David De Gea's post
The Spanish goalkeeper was called into action again as Mohamed Camara strode out of defence and drove a hard shot at his goal. De Gea's save was acrobatic, but on second viewing fairly comfortable. The same could be said again in the 33rd minute as Christian Fassnacht shot straight at him again.
Young Boys were by far the more dangerous side, but their lack of real star quality meant they struggled to punish Manchester United mistakes.
The English club had no such problem, two minutes later Paul Pogba took the game by the scruff of its neck. Marauding through midfield he exchanged passes with Fred, finding himself on the edge of the box, the World Cup winner brilliantly manouvred the ball onto his weaker left foot and unleashed a rasping drive into the top corner. It was harsh on Young Boys but a moment of brilliance from Pogba gave United the lead in the 35th minute.
The Swiss side's bad luck continued and it was not long until they found themselves 2-0 down. Only 6 minutes later Mbabu was adjudged to have handled Luke Shaw's attempted ball into the box, which looked harsh. After minutes of protestations Pogba kept his cool and with his signature slow run up thumped the ball into the top right corner, leaving David von Ballmoos no chance.
September 19, 2018
From here Manchester United took a comfortable lead into half time and while they may have been lucky to have the cushion, their ruthlessness could not be denied.
Although Young Boys never gave up and their performance remained spirited. However the 'red devils' kept them at arms length in a controlled and professional performance.
They put their victory beyond doubt in the 66th minute. Pogba found space in midfield again and his pass found winger Anthony Martial in space. Pogba's fellow French international had had a quiet first half but grew into the game and secured the win with a calm finish. The attacker opened his body up and struck a deflected shot past Von Ballmoos in goal that went in at the near post.
Pogba was given an early rest as he was withdrawn for Andreas Periera in the 75th minute, depriving him of the chance to complete his hat-trick.
Fellow substitute Juan Mata almost added further gloss to the scoreline but Mourinho's men will have been more than happy to pick up three goals and three points away from home.
September 19, 2018