He did his part, was fouling and interupting the flow of the game, pushing it for yellow.
31
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 36
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
We were getting overun, as soon as he came on the team immediately had composure. It was a great sub. Not sure he is mobile enough to start but his impact was important today.
Ole; "Nemanja my boy, I want you to go out there and lay down that greasy cnut Grealish"
Matic; "if he dies, he dies".
Matic; "if he dies, he dies".
Probably the most hilarious cameo you’ll ever seen. Basically brought on to ‘ foul loads’ and he succeeded. Villa players were far too quick for him but he made sure everytime to leave a foot in.
Yep. Put simply, Uncle Nem offers something nobody else in the side can.
I think Ole made a smart sub bringing him on, helped us on the ball more than off it.
Such a pity his legs are starting to go. Declan Rice would be top of my list to replace him.
Matic the master of the dark art of disrupting the tempo of the game and villas attacking play!
Still think Rice will end up at Chelsea and as a CB.
Like a man possessed when he came on. Was vital in adding a bit more composure to our game, which again shows us why we need a Carrick type midfielder to play next to a more energetic Fred or McTominay.
Good cameo.
Good cameo.
Very good cameo, did exactly what he needed to do. Loved the thumbs up after the yellow 
That would be such a waste of Rice if he's converted into a CB.
Really showed his experience when he came on today. Great game management from Ole and Matic himself, both knew exactly what was required.
Well he was a CB who was converted into a DM in the first place.
Not saying you're wrong, he might well go back to being a CB but I think it'd be a waste.
I'd love him to come here, think he'd suit us very well in midfield.
If we were to buy him it would be to play as a DM but I think Chelsea would slot him in as a CB.
Matic and the coaching staff knew exactly what they were doing with that sub and I loved it Broke up countless attacks before they began just by hacking Grealish down before he built up any momentum. The kind of savvy that Mourinho teams used to be famous for and something we've been missing for a long time.
His actual performance wasn't that great of course, but I think we could've been in for a far stickier last 20 if he didnt get brought on.
Broke up countless attacks before they began just by hacking Grealish down before he built up any momentum. The kind of savvy that Mourinho teams used to be famous for and something we've been missing for a long time.His actual performance wasn't that great of course, but I think we could've been in for a far stickier last 20 if he didnt get brought on.
Agreed. Came on to do a job, did it.Matic and the coaching staff knew exactly what they were doing with that sub and I loved it
His actual performance wasn't that great of course, but I think we could've been in for a far stickier last 20 if he didnt get brought on.
Thats what he was asked to do. Too many times we were too soft in the middle and let the Villa players dribble past us with zero efforts to block them. Matic just went for tactical fouls and we were able to revert to our shape.
most of his fouls were with grealish dribbling away from goal and literally in their half. It seemed like he just came on to boot Grealish out of the game.
The worst part was when they took a corner and the ball spilt out to the edge of the box, he went running at Luiz and he sold him a fake and Matic carried on running passed him another 5 yards
I thought he was absolutely awful but I guess people get entertainment out of fouls. Just glad we didn't concede from the silly free kicks.The fouling was the whole point. He was brought on to disrupt the game. He did his job perfectly.
He knew exactly what his role was and seems he enjoyed it...
Operation: Kick Grealish was a roaring success.
Operation: Kick Grealish was a roaring success.
Haha - he was basically subbed in to be a hitman. He did decent job as he fouled their number 10 about 3 times before he got booked. Awesome to watch. Did not like that part where he got dribbled past and De Gea had to save that direct shot from about 20 yards.
That postHe knew exactly what his role was and seems he enjoyed it...
Operation: Kick Grealish was a roaring success.
He walks into first XI with McTominay out of form. We could try van de Beek but I heard there is some problem with his job permit.
Shame we don't have a younger version of him. I like the few times he drives forward with the ball too
He's being managed really well too. Thought he was done last year but it probably helps that Fred has stepped up and mct can do a job here and there.
He's being managed really well too. Thought he was done last year but it probably helps that Fred has stepped up and mct can do a job here and there.
I can see he responded that.Vital cameo
I never really took too much notice of him at Chelsea. How good was a 25 year old Matic?
Chelsea fans could probably give more info but I thought he was great for a couple of seasons when he returned to Chelsea (which was 6 years ago so about 26)
It was similar to what we saw when he first joined us in terms of reading play, his passing and mobility. Maybe better.
Fantastic player. More mobile, more box to box and extremely cultured on the ball.
Mourinhos wet dreamHe knew exactly what his role was and seems he enjoyed it...
Operation: Kick Grealish was a roaring success.
Credit to Ole for that. Sometimes the players need to be a bit Stronger. Now we are leaning and gaining experience in game management. He does have an excellent long pass too and can shoot from range. He is a Serbian and is not going to pull out of a tackle.
But he was horrible during Jose's time. Now he can come on and control the tempo.
But he was horrible during Jose's time. Now he can come on and control the tempo.
Man Utd 1:0 Watford
I've been very critical of him this season but he was the level-headed presence we needed to see the game out comfortably tonight.
Fair play, came on and killed the game. Reminded me of Jorginho coming on sucking the air out of the game against Palace for Chelsea during the restart. He's also a bit of a cnut and knows how to win clever little free-kicks which is helpful when we're defending a lead, don't have many players with that skillset around the squad.
i was much more last season to be fair
But yes, we need somebody else like him (a younger version if possible) who can be there to get the ball, pass it around, kill play where needed in crucial times for us. He protects the ball well and helps take the sting out of opposition attacks.
The obvious problem being legs.
Burnley 0:1 Man Utd
I thought he was outstanding tonight.
I don't rate him a mile higher than Fred defensively in terms of tracking players but Fred's overhype this season has certainly made some people forget that Matic makes a good number of positive and correct choices on the ball and in the buildup. He doesn't play as many easy balls as Fred and generally looks to get us attacking more often.
Very very good today
Unsurprisingly we look so much stronger defensively with our actual defensive midfielder.
- Status