Most likely he was just hoping to get a podium with less than optimal preperation. There's no way he thought he'd win this.
If anything this duel was extremely overhyped before the race, and that's not even Pogacar's fault.
I'm sorry but he specifically mentioned training extra with his TT bike. he was aiming for it.
Maybe the parcours once seen in person was not as tough as initially led on. But this was a goal.
Not THE goal, but a goal. It's okay. For Pogacar this TT ain't that important, especially with the RR coming up.
But let's not pretend he did not want to win here.