Pogba dreams of return to national team, but realistically states: 'I'm very far...'

Yesterday in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain beat Le Havre and once again leapfrogged Olympique Marseille at the top of the table, Lens continued the chase for the duo, brushing aside Strasbourg at home, while the ten-man Monaco suffered a catastrophic defeat against Rennes on the road.

Still, the main news in France was Paul Pogba's return to the pitch following a 26-month hiatus, "entangled" in doping scandals and occasional injuries.

The midfielder clocked 11 minutes in Les Monegasques' crushing loss and hinted at a complete comeback to football after his 811-day absence. At the same time - despite being French - Pogba made his Ligue 1 debut, as he only wore jerseys of Man United and Juventus throughout his 14-year professional career.

The fact that he was the central figure in the French sports public highlights his status in his homeland, though even the 32-year-old revealed he was aware he was in for an uphill battle to achieve his ultimate goal - a return to the national team.

Pogba is back after 811 days, but Monaco collapse on a night of mixed emotions

"I'm very far from it. I'm focused on getting my fitness back to help the team. If I don't perform well at Monaco, I'll have to forget about the French national team, " Pogba said via Get French Football News.

He seems to have become more serious, as this entire calvary had obviously changed him. However, he'll indeed have to work hard to earn Didier Deschamps' - or some other future manager's, perhaps Zinedine Zidane's? - call-up for France, whose jersey he hasn't worn since March 29, 2022.

LIGUE 1 - ROUND 13

Friday

Nice - Olympique Marseille 1-5 (0-2)

/Ali Cho 63 - Aubameyang 11, Greenwood 33, 53, Weah 58, Paixao 74/

Saturday

Lens - Strassbourg 1-0 (0-0)

/Ganiou 69/

Rennes - Monaco 4-1 (1-0)

/Ait Boudlal 20, Camara 48, Embolo 73, Blas 83 pen - Biereth 90+5/

PSG - Le Havre 3-0 (1-0)

/Lee 29, Neves 65, Barcola 87/

Sunday

Auxerre - Olympique Lyon 0-0

Brest - Metz 3-2 (1-1)

/Mboup 2, Doumbia 48, Del Castillo 90+10 pen - Tsitaishvili 6, Coulibaly 79 og/

Nantes - Lorient 1-1 (0-1)

/Awaziem 90+1 - Awaziem 45+1 og/

Toulouse - Angers 0-1 (0-1)

/Belkhdim 16/

Lille - Paris IN PROGRESS