Nemanja Matic: Manchester United must approach Tottenham in a different way if we are to beat them
It did not turn out badly for Nemanja Matic the last time he faced Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup semi-final. Twelve months ago, the Serbia midfielder capped a man-of-the-match display in Chelsea’s 4-2 victory with a blistering 30-yard drive that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. What Jose Mourinho would give for a similar contribution from Matic for Manchester United against Spurs at Wembley on Saturday.
“It’s difficult to say if it’s the best goal I’ve scored but one of maybe the three best and most important goals in my life,” the midfielder said. “It was a great game and amazing for me to score that goal. I was really happy and I’ll never forget.”
It is clear Matic would rather forget United’s last game against Tottenham at Wembley in January, though. Behind after just 11 seconds to Christian Eriksen’s goal, the joint third fastest scored in Premier League history, United ended up losing 2-0 in a game perhaps best remembered for a heated touchline exchange between Paul Pogba and Mourinho shortly before the France midfielder was substituted in the second half.
Matic acknowledged United’s shortcomings on the night, and the need to raise their game this time around with their last chance of silverware this season at stake.
“We need to see where we made mistakes, we need to approach the game in a different way for sure and this game helps,” he said, although a couple of questions later he appeared to have erased the defeat from his memory. “I don’t remember the game,” he said. When he is reminded Pogba was taken off, Matic remains unmoved. “I don’t know,” he says. “We play many games.”
There is clearly little danger of Matic allowing the loss to prey on his mind, which goes a long way towards explaining his winner’s mentality, one that Mourinho cherishes. Matic was one of only two players - striker Romelu Lukaku being the other – who were singled out for praise by Mourinho during the United manager’s infamous “heritage” rant last month in the wake of the club’s Champions League exit to Sevilla.
“When I came here I wanted to show my qualities, I wanted to bring something to the team and, of course, I am happy that the manager, my team-mates and the club are happy with my job,” Matic said. Did Mourinho’s remarks make for any discomfort in the dressing room? “No, no, no – no one has said anything,” he said. “What I have to say is that I am proud. We have a good relationship as a coach and a player but no more than that.”
One player who will have to work a lot harder to gain that sort of trust from Mourinho is Pogba. His substitution against Spurs marked the start of a deterioration in his relationship with the Portuguese that had previously seemed rock solid.
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Pogba was certainly among those to invite Mourinho’s ire during the shock 1-0 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion last Sunday that handed Manchester City the title, only eight days after the midfielder inspired a thrilling fightback with two goals in a dramatic 3-2 derby win that had delayed their rival’s coronation.
Mourinho was so angry with the performance that he claimed it had cost some players their chance of starting against Spurs but Pogba at least went a way towards atoning with a much-improved showing in a greatly-changed side in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Few are better placed than Matic – the steadying hand in an ever-changing midfield – to discuss the mercurial Frenchman and he recognises there is plenty of scope for improvement.
“With his quality, personality he needs to have more confidence, needs to take more responsibility, of course,” said Matic, who talks like he plays – to the point, no frills, no fuss. “He’s still young, he can improve and he will improve. He showed in the game [against City] that he can always play better and better. He took responsibility, he scored and giving other players more confidence is exactly what he has to do.”
Whether as part of a midfield three that Pogba favours or in a two, Matic insists he enjoys playing alongside United’s club-record £89 million signing. “He’s a great player – he runs a lot, has the quality with the ball, he can score, he can defend also very well,” he said. “I like to play with him and also with Ander [Herrera], Scott [McTominay], Marouane [Fellaini]. We have quality in the team, but we always need to improve if we want to win the title next season.”
Matic seems slightly less enamoured with Pogba’s penchant for frequently changing his hair colour. Rest assured, he has no plans to dye his barnet blue. “No, I have kids,” Matic, 29, says, smiling. “If I do that, my son is going to do the same. I have to have serious hair, like Gary Neville.”
There is little doubting that Chelsea’s loss has been United’s gain. Twice a championship winner with Chelsea, Matic has been one of United’s most dependable performers during a campaign in which City’s relentless march to the title has intensified the spotlight, sometimes unfairly, on Mourinho’s side.
Despite being second in the table, four points clear of Liverpool with four games to play and six clear of Spurs, the inconsistency of United’s football has made them hard to warm to for some. But Mourinho has the possibility of claiming a third leading trophy in two seasons, which would be more silverware than Tottenham have won in the past 27 years.
So would a second placed finish and a Cup triumph be enough for the club this term? “It’s difficult to say if it’s enough,” Matic said. “I’m not sure it is but to finish second in the league is not bad and the FA Cup is very important for every team.”
Having been part of Mourinho’s last title-winning team, at Chelsea in 2014/15, Matic believes United are “not yet” at that level. “We need more – to have more experience in different kinds of situations during the game,” he said. “We drop many points when we shouldn’t and this comes with experience.”
Having been denied a League and Cup double with Chelsea last season when Arsenal won the final, Matic is hoping to go one better with a team he had long dreamed of representing. Matic was playing in Serbia’s third division with Kolubara, with whom he was earning about £70 per month, when he first floated the idea of playing for United, albeit mostly in jest at that time.
“There is an interesting story because one agent wanted to bring me to another club in Serbia and I was not happy to go there so he asked me, ‘Where do you want to go then?’ I was sitting at a table with him and told him, ‘I want to go to Manchester United’. He was like ‘What is he talking about?!’ I was joking but it shows that everything is possible.”
