Unflappable Nemanja Matic helps Manchester United to another win over City and cements his place at the heart of midfield
- Matic has become an integral part of resurgent Manchester United’s midfield in recent week
- Serbian veteran takes advantage of Paul Pogba’s absence to make the midfield spot his own
Manchester United’s Serbian international Nemanja Matic was about to leave Old Trafford after Sunday’s Manchester derby. He’d played well again, as he did when the two teams last met when he was the man of the match – and also sent off.
“I’m pleased but it’s only three points,” he said, refusing to get carried away while United fans do exactly that after beating England’s champions for the third time in three months.
United’s assistant manager Mike Phelan had opined that it was Matic’s best game for United, stating: “His positioning, his reading of the game. He’s had two excellent games against City.”
“We’re still outside the top four and we need to finish in the top four,” deadpans the 31-year-old Serbian. “I’m not happy that we’re fifth in the table.”
That is true, but United are now ten games unbeaten, during which they’ve scored 24 goals and conceded only two. Matic is one of the twelve different players to score those goals and the team remain in the FA Cup and the Europa League, where their next game is Thursday’s last-16 first leg tie at LASK in Austria.