Nemanja Matic

[sdrcfc 461]

Having watched him play for Benfica, I can guarantee you his shot against City definitely wasn't a fluke.

He is nominated for goal of the year a lot.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Matic vs Newcastle: 10 tackles, 2 interceptions, 5 clearances, 4 aerial duels won.

Played 301 minutes for chelsea, 0 goals conceded when on the pitch.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Matic vs Newcastle: 10 tackles, 2 interceptions, 5 clearances, 4 aerial duels won.

Played 301 minutes for chelsea, 0 goals conceded when on the pitch.

[StrategiC 73]

Matelelle

[Excalibur KTBFFH 109]

No compo vs Newcastle?

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Was mostly excellent , and I love what I see from him so far. He needs to get acclimatized the Premier League a bit still though as he tends to try to dribble too much out of traffic which results in a few turnovers in bad places. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon.

[Strike 7,217]

he's very quick to get to loose balls

[Cosmin 2,484]

I don't know why, but it feels like he's been here since forever, not since two weeks ago. He's so calm and quiet on the field and has the power to make you feel safe everytime he's around the ball. Against City he was like a tank, I couldn't even believe it.

Also, having a player like this helps Hazard, Oscar and Willian to make more good runs and create even more chances. Not to mention that, for some reason, Luiz was way way better when they played together. Absolutely brilliant signing. Chapeau for Mourinho and our board.

It's a shame, though, that we won't be able to use him in the UCL. We're gonna miss him.

[Pizy 18,368]

Kinda sucks how we're getting used to him being in the side and making us look like a different team and then as soon as the CL returns we won't have him.

If we manage to get past Galatasaray he'll be a huge miss for us against better sides. We'd make a real run at it if he wasn't cup tied.

[Ze Mario 638]

Kinda sucks how we're getting used to him being in the side and making us look like a different team and then as soon as the CL returns we won't have him.

If we manage to get past Galatasaray he'll be a huge miss for us against better sides. We'd make a real run at it if he wasn't cup tied.

chill mate. jose still eligible for UCL games. so there

[Alabama 1,992]

The spiderman

[DYC. 7,542]

It's insane how the guy is absolutely everywhere. Every time the ball was lost, he was somehow near the ball. Not only does he possess great energy and work-rate, his anticipation is something else. I love how he challenges early, giving the player in possession of the ball very little time to think. I didn't know that was his style of defending so that's a very pleasant surprise. Who needs pace when you're able to do that.

A little sloppy in possession against Newcastle at times but you can tell the guy's a good passer so no worries, probably needs to get used to the pace of the game. The ease with which he puts pace in his passes reminds me of Ballack btw.

His drive on the ball and his ability to dribble is also great plus to his game and for the team. Mikel, Ramires and Lampard are quickly inclined to release the ball quickly to the most nearby player or simply play it backwards when put under pressure (Mikel can hold it quite well but his passing is too simplistic). With Matic, there's finally a player in the middle who remains very cool under pressure, can get past a player and play a good pass forward.

All in all he looks like the real deal. A very good defender but also very accomplished on the ball and improves the overall quality of the team. And I can only see him improving.

[iseah100 5,612]

Matic+Pogba!!!!!

Okay, so I know this may be a stupid question, but can someone explain to me what a "pivot" is? I've seen it a lot in here and I don't know what it means.

[Su_Mou4ever 2]

Matic+Pogba!!!!!

Okay, so I know this may be a stupid question, but can someone explain to me what a "pivot" is? I've seen it a lot in here and I don't know what it means.

A pivot it's a defensive CM... Like Fernandinho from City

[Excalibur KTBFFH 109]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHCq8YHyAA

Nemanja vs Newcastle

The video is inverted, but it's the only compo I can find now. His surging runs and the way he plays passes in behind the opposition's midfield really takes our attacking play to another level. As well as his monstrous defensive contribution

[Henrique 9,133]

Well, after the matche against City (the one we won), many people were saying how amazing he was, and that we should sell Ramires because he is not good enough to play alongside Matic.

Matic was far from good in the match against West Brom, for the 2nd half they got too much space on the mid, and the same thing happened today, too much ball watching from the serbian. He tried some terrible long balls, reacted way too slow in some attacking opportunities, won few challenges...Mikel looked better for the whole match.

It doesnt mean Matic is a bad player, it just means that we need more time before jumping into conclusions, before saying he is awesome, or saying that a player like Ramires is useless because he is not good enough to play alongside Matic. Shevchenko was supposed to do better than Kalou...

[The Chels 2,502]

Has been poor recently perhaps because of fatigue and the lack of a ball-playing CM next to him. Did well when partnered with Luiz who can actually pass, but with Mikel/Ramires who cannot control the tempo, he has to take the initiative himself giving the ball away quite a lot as his long-range passing has been very poor. A Luiz-Matic pivot should be the way forward from now on.

[Rekin 835]

Was I the only one thinking he was one of our better players?

He is not going to win the midfield by himself, but I think he was less static compared with a lot of other players. To me he was far better than Mikel who got less done.
Should be the first name in the defensive midfield, but he has yet to click with anyone as well as he did with Luiz.

As for Ramires he shouldn't be sold, but we could without any doubt benefit from a player similar to Moutinho next to Matic.