Nemanja Matic celebrates after scoring his winning goal for Manchester United against Crystal Palace

Goal of the Day: M is for Matic

Thursday 11 June 2020 02:00

Our A-Z Goal of the Day series continues with the letter ‘M’, for Matic…

The Serbian has been one of the most consistent Premier League midfielders over the last decade, and his robust tackling, excellent positional sense and varied range of passing means he always poses a threat to the opposition.

In three years at Old Trafford, Nemanja has racked up over 100 appearances and his unforgettable strike against Crystal Palace in March 2018 is today’s ‘Goal of the Day’...
Goal of the Day: Matic v Crystal Palace Video

Goal of the Day: Matic v Crystal Palace

Nemanja's late winner sealed an incredible 3-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace in March 2018...

SIGNING FOR UNITED

Matic played a starring role in Chelsea’s 2014/15 title triumph under then boss Jose Mourinho, and continued his superb performances over the coming years, again winning the league two seasons later under Antonio Conte.

To the surprise of most in the game, the Italian allowed Nemanja to swap the capital for the North-West the following summer, with Jose Mourinho - then in charge at the Theatre of Dreams - swooping in to sign his old pal.
FINEST MOMENT

Often praised for his industrious hard work and superb shielding of the back four, in an Emirates FA Cup clash against Brighton & Hove Albion, Nemanja showed the other side of his game. The former Benfica man provided an inch-perfect cross for Romelu Lukaku to nod home the opener in the first half of that quarter-final tie in 2018, before heading in our second after the break, to seal a 2-0 victory for the Reds.
Video
Nemanja ran the show against Brighton in 2018...

REDS SPELL

Having made his debut for United in our UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid at the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Nemanja went on to play 49 times during his maiden year as a Red, including 36 of our 38 Premier League games. The following year, the Serbian’s season was disrupted by injury, although he did register 38 appearances in all competitions. This term, after missing a large part of the first half of the year, our no.31 has again put in a string of impressive showings and has played in all bar two of our last 16 games before the season’s suspension in March.

WHAT THEY SAID

“When he arrived I thought he was outstanding. Everyone was shocked that Chelsea sold him in the first place. He’s a good player to have in our team; he’s experienced and helps the younger players who play alongside him. But there’s more to his game and I still think he can give that killer pass and also looks forward.” (Quinton Fortune)

"He is a player with great experience, many years at the highest level and good experience, good stability.” (Jose Mourinho)

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