Matic backs Henderson
TranscriptNemanja Matic feels Dean Henderson recovered well from his mistake at Bramall Lane, to make a top save near the end...
Q: Nemanja, should that have been not quite so tense at the end? A: “Yeah, in the Premier League it’s always like this, I’m afraid. Every team has quality; every team can use small mistakes to punish you. At the end, 3-2 - three points and that’s the most important.” Q: Six away wins this season and we’ve conceded the first goal in all of them. It makes it hard for you, doesn’t it? A: “We always like to go a difficult way. I don’t know know if this is coincidence. Like I say, the most important [thing] is we won three very important points that take us closer to the top and, hopefully, we will continue in this way to win games, and to fight for the title.” Q: Obviously, it’s a special night for Dean [Henderson] to come back here and he’s had a disappointing start, but he made a great save there at the end. I suppose, that was the important thing? A: “Of course mistakes are a part of football; they’re a part of life. It doesn’t matter. The most important [thing] is to win three points. Sometimes he will save us, like he did towards the end. We believe that he is a top goalkeeper and for sure he will be important for us.” Q: Some of the attacking play with Marcus [Rashford], Anthony [Martial] and Mason [Greenwood] - A: “Up front they played some amazing football. We scored very nice goals, but that’s exactly what we expect from them. That’s why they are Man United players, they have to decide the games; they have to make the game more easy for us to score goals and to create, so I’m not surprised.” Q: You said earlier, that hopefully we will be fighting for the title. That’s five points off the table now with a game in hand - do you see, in this crazy season, that we’re very much in there? A: “Yeah I think so. I always say if you want to win a title you have to win five or six consecutive games - then you can drop some points in maybe one or two games. Then again, you have to win five or six game again to win the league. We have to forget the game tonight and focus for the next one. For us, every game is a final. Every game is the game of our lives for us. I believe that we can do something.” Q: This is the first one of six games in 15 days - you’re used to it in the Premier League and in England, but I suppose the squad will come into action over the next couple of weeks? A: “Yeah, we play many games, every three days. We are lucky that we have a big squad. Sometimes we can rotate the players. I think everybody is ready. We only have one or two injured players, so every training we are training on the pitch. It’s good for the team and we are very confident.”