Second half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe gave the impressive French side a clear advantage ahead of the return in Paris on March 6.
Spaniard Herrera finished off a fine move with a precise header from Pogba's cross just past the half-hour and United's French midfielder scored himself when he nodded powerfully home from a Marcus Rashford delivery before the break.
Substitute Alessandro Matri was the unlikely hero when he scored an extra-time winner to give Juventus a 2-1 win over Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, keeping them on course for the treble.
Juventus clinched their second successive Serie A title with three games to spare by beating Palermo 1-0 on Sunday while Miroslav Klose hit five goals in Lazio's 6-0 demolition of hapless Bologna.
Chelsea went second in the Premier League with a comfortable 4-0 win at Burnley, on Sunday, which maintained their unbeaten start to the season.
France, Japan and United States recorded solid victories on Tuesday as the finalists continued their preparations with the start of the World Cup just over two weeks away.
Conte said his team could face a more daunting task against the five-time European champions at the Nou Camp.
The French in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 all followed their stuttering starts as champions by bombing out in the group stage.
Former Manchester United full-backs Gary and Phil Neville slammed the club's "garbage" defending after Sunday's crushing 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League.
Here are the top-10 highest paid soccer players according to Forbes.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said his French winger Anthony Martial is finally understanding exactly what is required from him after he delivered an outstanding performance in Sunday's 2-1 Premier League win over Everton.
'It's a problem not just in football -- it's a problem in society, but football now is at the forefront of everybody's minds in terms of, we've got the power to do something about it'
Mourinho praises Pogba, Shaw, Dalot after United Swiss stroll
Mandzukic signing adds to the Serie A champs' big haul of strikers as Paul Pogba is targetted by Barca and PSG among other clubs
Records tumbled in the transfer window as Premier League spending totalled 1.165 billion pounds ($1.54 billion), financial analyst Deloitte's Sports Business Group said on Thursday. The outlay represents a 34 percent rise on the previous highest in all windows of 870 million pounds set 12 months ago and means the overall spend by clubs in 2016-17 already represents a record for a single Premier League season.
Images from Thursday's action in the Europa League Europa League - Round of 16 Second Leg - matches.
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci could not get enough of the sponsors' offerings on Sunday, taking big swigs of Coca-Cola and Heineken as he spoke to media after their victory over England.
Juventus moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A after defeating Palermo 4-0 at home on Sunday and Francesco Totti bagged a dramatic late equaliser as AS Roma drew 3-3 at Atalanta.
Manchester United are threatening to sue French club Le Havre over claims they lured Paul Pogba to Old Trafford by paying off his parents.
Les Bleus' average age is 26 years old -- like England -- and Kylian Mbappe is 19, but it was he who ran riot after France fell 2-1 behind early in the second half.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho deserves his title of "The Special One" as he can make challenging decisions to get wins and has won three trophies in his debut campaign at the Premier League club, midfielder Paul Pogba said.
Marcus Rashford scored on his 100th Premier League appearance on Sunday to secure a 1-0 win over Leicester City that kept interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dream start going at his old club.
France ended Nigeria's hopes of a first World Cup quarter-final appearance when they scored two late goals to beat the Super Eagles 2-0 in a rough second-round match on Monday.
City will look to extend lead against United at Old Trafford
The world champions crashed out of the Euros last year at the round of 16 stage after losing to Switzerland.
Bayern Munich wasted a two-goal lead and needed a lucky 82nd- minute winner from Joshua Kimmich to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in Germany's Super Cup on Wednesday and secure their fifth title of the year.
Following are comments, quotes and reactions from the French coach, players.
Photos from the English Premier League match played between Manchester United and Arsenal on Saturday
Andriy Yarmolenko became the latest player at the European Championship to mess about with sponsors' drinks bottles
Britain's world number three Andy Murray stressed the importance of gender equality in tennis, saying the work ethic required to succeed is the same for both men and women.
France are looking to beat the Socceroos just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia.
'Players like Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard -- they've been brought up in this city. Paul Pogba was brought up in the city from the age of 14. They will find if difficult'
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
Fees paid by Premier League clubs passed one billion pounds for the first time, according to financial analysts Deloitte. That was inflated by the world record 89 million pounds ($115.98 million) that Manchester United paid Juventus for France midfielder Paul Pogba.
After opening with a 4-0 win over Chelsea, Monday's 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, would have been a second straight win, had Paul Pogba converted his second half penalty kick.
Some of soccer's biggest names are cheering the rescue of 12 Thai boys and their coach from a flooded cave
Table-toppers Napoli, barely affected by injuries, have won five league matches in a row to extend their unbeaten run since the start of the season in both Serie A and the Champions League.
It was Griezmann's combination of graft and guile at both ends of the pitch that caught the eye.
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