Former Manchester United defender Rafael says Paul Pogba is his normal self under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Frenchman fell out with former boss Jose Mourinho, but has scored eight goals and provided ten assists under Solskjaer.

When asked by Omnisport if he had been surprised by the Norwegian's impact, the Lyon defender said: ""This is what happened to Pogba. He wasn't happy, he wasn't smiling. A player like Pogba, if he doesn't smile, if he doesn't want to play, it's hard. Now, they all want to play.

"Mourinho, in truth, it seems like this is the opposite, the players were not happy, they were thinking about defending too much all the time.

"Some players know how to defend, but when you talk too much, 'you have to defend, defend', they get tired. Maybe, I'm saying maybe, this is what happened, I don't know.

"The thing about players smiling, [Alex] Ferguson was like that as well. Of course, some games he was telling you, 'be careful, you have to defend', but he was never saying, 'defend, don't attack'.

"He was never saying that. It's important for the players, because if they think only about defending, you can't even defend, because you're thinking too much, and then it's over."