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Nemanja Matic Serbia flag

2018-19 Performances

View full 2018-19 profile

5.1 Season Average Rating
Appearances
38
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
12
Red cards
1
Status
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Like others have said, I agree that he needs to be replaced as soon as possible.

Tottenham were playing around him like he wasn't there at times. He was lucky Herrera was there to do all the running for him. This isn't a new occurrence, hes been like this for months.

He's a complete liability. His pressing effort is non-existent which we will get punished for. The Lukaku of our midfield.
 
Don't know what you lot are smoking.The guy is class.Approaching the autumn of his career but still enough quality to start for us.
 
Guapa said:
Don't know what you lot are smoking.The guy is class.Approaching the autumn of his career but still enough quality to start for us.
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It doesn't matter most of the posters here seem to think they have to criticise Matic for no reason while going over the top in praising Herrera .
The two go hand in hand apparently
 
I agree with you. Yes he struggled a bit as did everyone else but he had a very solid game and helped our CBs a lot and did a lot of good work in the middle of the park. I have been one of his biggest critics before but he has been a different player since Ole took over.
I do not understand why people have to slate players when they have decent or good games. Yes he needs to be replaced by upgrading to a better DM but he was solid today.
 
Needs replacing ASAP. The only living man to contract rigor mortis.
 
We don't need to upgrade him in the summer as he's playing at a high level imo (under Ole anyway)

Would be nice to get in a younger understudy to give him a rest once in a while though. Don't really have anyone right now to be the sole DM though I reckon Scott could do a job.
 
Besides a few sloppy passes he bossed the midfield first half. Defensively very good in both halfs. Unfortunately he is too slow to make up for others lack of defensive nous (cough Pogba cough) against good teams and seems afraid to rant at other players when needed. Pogba and Lingard left Matic alone with too many players at once too many times in the second half. It was unfortunate.
 
Good performance against Spurs. I'm always there to point out when he doesnt do his job defending very well, but against Spurs he did help out Ander with both winning the ball back 5 times and being a good defensive team. He also continued to try to play balls behind the defense, they didn't always work out but they werent the worst tries you'll see.
 
He was pivotal yesterday. Great player with excellent football brain. Essential to the good run of results, gave him 7/10.
 
He was very good yesterday however nearly cost us a goal when he let "Dele" run past him to go through on goal
 
Not sure he's what we need against top 6 teams. He was good the first half but invisible in the second chasing shadows.

Still has a part to play for us but we need to upgrade asap. Jong or Neves, please.
 
Sometimes I wonder if people watch football matches. He was brilliant in the first half when we controlled the game. In the 2nd half, we reverted back to the Jose tactic of parking the bus and it was no surprise that everyone was struggling. We were evidently tired having not been accustomed to playing at such a high intensity and that too against a team that does it week in, week out.
 
Is a bit like Young, although Ashley gets the bonus points for being United through and through. Good, honest lad who's just about enough for now but needs upgrading next season. Nothing to be ashamed of. Good players who're on their last legs although we can squeeze 2 seasons out of Matic if he's used sparingly like Carrick was near the end. Mourinho destroyed him physically imo but he can still be a good player if played every other week.
 
He was decent overall. Really good first half but second the play was too quick for him.
We do need to upgrade on him. Basically we need him but with legs as it often seems he jogs back when somebody gets past him (but I think thats his top speed).
 
He was a bit too ponderous on the ball yesterday, which you can't be when you're playing against Spurs.

Overall though he's been great since Ole has come in.
 
Trizy said:
Not sure he's what we need against top 6 teams. He was good the first half but invisible in the second chasing shadows.

Still has a part to play for us but we need to upgrade asap. Jong or Neves, please.
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2x EPL winning medal who play almost all the game for title winning team and has been every manager's favourite is suddenly not good against top 6 ? He was never a fast player to begin with , but i don't think his playing style changed much with us. Always capable of reading the game and know when to charge forward , when to hold position. Had a solid game yesterday , arguably our best player in first half.
 
11101 said:
Good game again but he was knackered second half like many of them. I hope we're looking for his replacement because judging by this season he won't be capable of starting next year.
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This is what I felt too. He gave it all and you can see it on his face. He was dead on his feet. I think he needs a break. Maybe rest him for the Brighton game. We need to replace him with a younger and better player.
 
lsd said:
It doesn't matter most of the posters here seem to think they have to criticise Matic for no reason while going over the top in praising Herrera .
The two go hand in hand apparently
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Of all the people to complain about agenda posting. :lol:
 
breakout67 said:
Oh I agree completely with getting a player that doesn't lose his man like Matic does. But Kante isn't it, because then we'd have no one protecting the defence.

In my opinion Ruben Neves is a blindingly obvious transfer for us, other players we could get are Veratti (will have 1 year left on his contract in the summer), De Jong and Aouar.
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Neves and Verrati both never struck me as particularly strong defensively though. Still, quality options and I think especially Neves could a great option for us if we intend to upgrade on Herrera.
What about Declan Rice? I haven't seen much of him but he gets a lot of praise as one of the most talented DMs in the league? Would cost a fortune but sometimes what quality option wouldn't?
 
Needs replacing but is the least of the prioritize for now. RB, CB maybe 2, Another attacker and cover for Pogba should all be sorted before we go splurging on Matic replacements.

I no he is 31 or what have you but so what, he is doing a reliable job at the mo and will be vital as we head into yet another transition.
 
SiRed said:
Needs replacing but is the least of the prioritize for now. RB, CB maybe 2, Another attacker and cover for Pogba should all be sorted before we go splurging on Matic replacements.

I no he is 31 or what have you but so what, he is doing a reliable job at the mo and will be vital as we head into yet another transition.
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I disagree, think fixing how easy our midfield is to play through is pretty much on the same level as needing a new CB. Our midfield is very poor defensively, Matic is a big part of that. Pogba is a problem as well, his lack of discipline, tendency to switch off and be out of position makes it difficult for his partners, but Matic is in the key defensive spot in that trio and struggles badly when the game becomes stretched.

Too easy to blame all of our issues on the CB's, the best in the world will struggle if they are exposed to the extent that ours tend to be.
 
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Bobski said:
I disagree, think fixing how easily our midfield is to play through is pretty much on the same level as needing a new CB. Our midfield is very poor defensively, Matic is a big part of that. Pogba is a problem as well, his lack of discipline, tendency to switch off and be out of position makes it difficult for his partners, but Matic is in the key defensive spot in that trio and struggles badly when the game becomes stretched.

Too easy to blame all of our issues on the CB's, the best in the world will struggle if they are exposed to the extent that ours tend to be.
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What i notice more so is that Matic is left isolated as Pogba goes on his travels...This is where Pogs problem with Mou probably came from but i much prefer the Pogba we have today, even at the expense of a little protection for Matic.

When Herrera plays, Matic isn't outnumbered as much but he isnt mobile enough to cover the space left by Pogba, as well as his own position.
 
Watched the game last night for the second time without the drama feeling and I must say I side with those praising him. My student, who is a seasoned pro and a neutral, was extremely complimentary of him, too. Shows you how disliking any given player can cloud one's judgement.

Congrats on the newly born, Nemanja, hope the kid is well!
 
He’s stepped up since Mous departure. Hard to get the ball from him and every time I thinks he’s getting dispossessed he somehow gets out of it, only thing is he only looks left to pass
 
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AlexanderClaude said:
He’s stepped up since Mous departure. Hard to get the ball from him and every time I thinks he’s getting dispossessed he somehow gets out of it, only thing is he only looks left to pass
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He oozes class and has been excellent since Ole took over .
 
Its amazing how much of a better player he is under Ole than Mourinho. When he gets the ball he's usually looking forward now and finds a simple but effective pass towards the front players without second guessing himself and going backwards just to have as much of the ball as possible. Gave him a 7/10 today same as Ander
 
Superb when we were on top. A liability when we were under the cosh.
 
Passing was decent but got caught dawdling on the ball more than once and that lack of mobility is an issue when teams start to apply pressure to us.
 
Thought that was the best game I’ve seen him have for us today, some of his passing was a delight.

Got tired toward the end though, Herrera really covered for him.

Shocked where this Matic has been for the last few months, he looks a changed man.
 
We've seen more creativity from Matic in Ole's short reign then we did during the entirety of Jose's. He needs carefully managed with regards to game time with his age and the amount he has played.
 
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