Nemanja Matic

[lionsden 4,689]

He's our yaya in terms of importance to the team. Looking back, our midfield and overall quality of the team has come a long way since the mediocre years post 09/10

[manpe 10,861]

I seem to remember Andre, a winger, getting a lot of stick for failing to track back when Man City scored in the first game. Never mind that Andre was the one who scored our only goal too(and what a world-class run it was).

I also remember Cesc, an AM, getting a lot of stick for being fouled and dispossessed close to Schalke's final third(!), which resulted in the counter that could have been easily stopped by numerous of our players. And never mind that Cesc was the one who scored our only goal too.

But when Matic, a defensive midfielder, makes a mistake in our half that eventually leads to a goal, it's apparently okay. And unlike Andre and Cesc, he didn't even score a goal for us, but it's okay. Because it's Matic.

Such double standards are pretty baffling. It seems Matic can do no wrong. If his name was Mikel or Oscar, he would have been crucified.

What the fuck, goals have nothing to do with it, especially when talking about a defensive midfielder who's job isn't to score. I said he made a mistake, didn't I? He deserves his fair share of blame for being one of the links in the chain that led to a goal, but there were many links after him. His display was such, especially in the first half, that he avoided many more chances than he caused. Praises are due, without him we would have lost and I have no doubt in my mind about it.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

What the fuck, goals have nothing to do with it, especially when talking about a defensive midfielder who's job isn't to score. I said he made a mistake, didn't I? He deserves his fair share of blame for being one of the links in the chain that led to a goal, but there were many links after him. His display was such, especially in the first half, that he avoided many more chances than he caused. Praises are due, without him we would have lost and I have no doubt in my mind about it.

Yes, a defensive midfielder's main job is to defend and to destroy the opposition's chances rather than create them. He failed at his main job at that particular moment, and yet that costly mistake gets largely overlooked by most people.

My point about Andre and Cesc was that they did their main job: to create and score goals, but for some reason had gotten far more stick for the goals conceded than the defensive midfielder did for a similar(if not worse) mistake. Don't you see how ridiculous it is?

As for "without him we would have lost," without Andre and Cesc's goals we would have lost to City and Schalke respectively, but that didn't stop people from blaming them. Double standards at their finest.

I like Nemanja a lot, but this is not the first time I've noticed that people are far more willing to ignore his mistakes than other players'. He used to be underrated, but lately it's becoming the opposite.

[manpe 10,861]

Yes, a defensive midfielder's main job is to defend and to destroy the opposition's chances rather than create them. He failed at his main job at that particular moment, and yet that costly mistake gets largely overlooked by most people.

My point about Andre and Cesc was that they did their main job: to create and score goals, but for some reason had gotten far more stick for the goals conceded than the defensive midfielder did for a similar(if not worse) mistake. Don't you see how ridiculous it is?

As for "without him we would have lost," without Andre and Cesc's goals we would have lost to City and Schalke respectively, but that didn't stop people from blaming them. Double standards at their finest.

I like Nemanja a lot, but this is not the first time I've noticed that people are far more willing to ignore his mistakes than other players'. He used to be underrated, but lately it's becoming the opposite.

Just rewatched the highlights and he definitely played a part, but overall I think he had a good game. It's lucky for Ivanovic and Terry we didn't concede from any of their mistakes otherwise we'd be talking about them.

[bababoom 4,478]

Beast.

[dmode 113]

What a player Matic is. The way he dispossessed Clichy was absolutely brilliant

[Henrique 9,133]

Beast.

lol

To be honest that was a clearly foul.

Anyway, as someone said above "He used to be underrated, but lately it's becoming the opposite".

You know when the hype around a player is getting out of control when people are using the word "brilliant" to describe this kind of display.

The brilliant defensive moment from yesterday was from Zouma, that perfect tackle against Aguero inside the box.

[Strike 7,217]

lol

To be honest that was a clearly foul.

Anyway, as someone said above "He used to be underrated, but lately it's becoming the opposite".

You know when the hype around a player is getting out of control when people are using the word "brilliant" to describe this kind of display.

The brilliant defensive moment from yesterday was from Zouma, that perfect tackle against Aguero inside the box.

Not a foul. Got the ball

[Henrique 9,133]

Not a foul. Got the ball

100% foul for me. Its easier to see he used his arms.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

He is fucking beast in defending and ball repossesion, aerial duels and tackling, but he realy needs to be more concentrated in game. He is our holding midfielder and this is key position in game. When he gets the ball, everyone goes forward, and if he loses it, it can lead to extremely dangerous counter attack.

He needs to be more reliable when in possession, he makes some wrong passes and players get quickly behind him. Also, he wins most of headers, but he heads the ball very randomly IMO, sometimes straight to opponent who can create fast attack.

That said, beast of midfielder.

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

He is fucking beast in defending and ball repossesion, aerial duels and tackling, but he realy needs to be more concentrated in game. He is our holding midfielder and this is key position in game. When he gets the ball, everyone goes forward, and if he loses it, it can lead to extremely dangerous counter attack.

He needs to be more reliable when in possession, he makes some wrong passes and players get quickly behind him. Also, he wins most of headers, but he heads the ball very randomly IMO, sometimes straight to opponent who can create fast attack.

That said, beast of midfielder.

he heads the ball randomly... Really? Have you ever played football yourself?

[Myself 793]

lol

To be honest that was a clearly foul.

Anyway, as someone said above "He used to be underrated, but lately it's becoming the opposite".

You know when the hype around a player is getting out of control when people are using the word "brilliant" to describe this kind of display.

The brilliant defensive moment from yesterday was from Zouma, that perfect tackle against Aguero inside the box.

Not really. He's still underrated. You'd be surprised by the amount of people who think Matic isn't all that. Best DM in the world bar none.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

he heads the ball randomly... Really? Have you ever played football yourself?

Sure its difficult sometimes, but his heading accuracy is weird. Im not saying he should head it straight to team mate, but he can head it at least in certain way. Not always, but usualy he has time and height.

Usualy big guys head the ball away from danger, not right into it.

[TheOneChan95 225]

Not a foul. Got the ball

Even Gary Neviile said it was brilliant.

[Nero 1,838]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfpQcotsz3g

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Need him to get back to that November-early December form. Not that he's been particularly bad in recent weeks, but he's capable of so much more. Him giving the ball away cheaply is getting particularly frustrating.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Amazing. The man is a Rolls-Royce. One of the best players in the world

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Unbelievable performance vs Everton. No holding midfielder has the ball skills of this guy. He even takes free-kicks too. Forget being the best holding Mid. He's one of the top 10 best players in world football.