Stats reveal Matic's role in Manchester United resurgence can't be understated

 

In the build up to the festive period, a vast majority of Manchester United fans would have been glad to see the back of Nemanja Matic. It looked as though the Serb's best days were behind him and, with a little over six months to run on his contract, albeit with an option to extend by a further year, a January exit was on the cards. 

 

A switch to Italy was mooted, while rumours continued to circulate of a possible reunion with Jose Mourinho at Tottenham. However, on Boxing Day, disaster struck for United as Scott McTominay lasted just the first half in their comfortable 4-1 win over Newcastle. With Paul Pogba also sidelined, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was forced to turn back to Matic to help carry the team through to January before reassessing at the turn of the year. 

 

Fast forward to the present, and just days after United's 2-0 derby win over rivals Manchester City, Matic is now considered integral to the Red Devils. A new deal is even being discussed by player and club. Solskjaer doesn't just want to trigger a one-year extension, but hand Matic fresh terms with a pay increase. Matic's displays have been so impressive of late, that United have not needed to rush Scott McTominay back from injury.


Sunday's win over City marked Matic's 20th competitive start for the side this season. In those 20 appearances, United have kept a clean sheet in 14 matches. In the Premier League alone, United's win percentage increases from 33.3% to 54.5% when Matic starts, with the 31-year-old forcing supporters to perform a complete 180 on their opinion of the tough-tackling midfielder. 

 

The problems in the past have come about by a perceived lack of mobility from Matic, so much so that it led to the nickname 'Static', an unwanted trait that really shot to the public's attention in United's 4-0 loss at Everton last season. As Everton countered, Gylfi Sigurdsson received an Idrissa Gueye pass to the left of the United box around 30 yards from goal. Faced one-on-one with Matic, the Icelander merely cut onto his right and it left the United man flummoxed as Sigurdsson drifted infield before finding the bottom corner from 25 yards. 

 

In that 4-0 loss, Matic was the worst rated player on the pitch, returning a WhoScored rating of just 5.69. In the same fixture this season, less than a fortnight ago, Matic was named the WhoScored man of the match with a rating of 8.01 to signal quite the turnaround from the Serbia international. From outcast to arguably one of United's best players. He has forged a solid relationship alongside Fred in the middle of the park, while his performances have improved further since Bruno Fernandes joined from Sporting CP in January. 

 

 

The Portugal international has, as many expected, been an inspired signing for United and it's no coincidence that four of Matic's six best rated Premier League performances this season have come since Fernandes joined. The 25-year-old is prepared to drop deep in search of possession and, importantly, attract the attention of opposition midfielders to a greater degree, which grants Matic more time on the ball so his weaknesses are not so regularly exploited and further accentuates the benefits of a committed, designated number 10 to shoulder the creative burden. 

 

It's no shock that, since Fernandes' arrival, Matic is United's fourth highest rated Premier League player, with a WhoScored rating of 7.60, a metric, of course, led by Fernandes (7.82). Yet Matic has been steadily improving since before Fernandes moved to Old Trafford, but it's only recently that non-United fans are really beginning to witness the second coming of the experienced midfielder. He is showing signs that he is back to his bulldozing best as United fans witnessed upon his arrival from Chelsea in 2017 and has been a breath of fresh air in a midfield that looked to be stagnating and short of quality options to help the team to a Champions League finish. 

 

While a cliched term, Matic's renaissance feels like a new signing for Solskjaer's side and the only signing that'll happen in the foreseeable future looks to be Matic putting pen to paper on a new deal at Old Trafford. The numbers certainly add up and, provided he can maintain his excellent form as United's destroyer in the middle of the park, then the club's hopes of securing a return to Europe's elite club competition improve drastically, so too does their chances of landing silverware.

Stats reveal Matic's role in Manchester United resurgence can't be understated