Juan Mata -- also excellent, in Rooney's position -- used the ball much more rapidly, providing a much more fluid heart to United's side. Pogba did that too, and with Ander Herrera alongside him, the three complemented each other. Mata's performance was good and bad news for Rooney. The England international might not be in the team quite as much, but the Spaniard is at least showing there is a way back from the cold under Mourinho.
Just as nobody should have panicked about Pogba's slightly slow start to the campaign, nobody should get too excited about this excellent performance. If United are to achieve anything of note this season, he must play like this most weeks and preferably more often than that.
"I don't look at the newspapers," said Pogba after the game, when asked about criticism of his time back in England so far.
"But I always say one thing: 'It's at the end.' So at the end, you will see."
If he keeps this up, at the end we'll see what a player unlike any other in the world is really capable of.