He hasn’t been in good form.
Some Manchester United players consider Nemanja Matic to be “untouchable” and they are questioning his role in the team, according to a report in The Times.
Jose Mourinho signed the Serbian midfielder from Chelsea in 2017. The pair worked together at the London club and Matic excelled as Chelsea won the Premier League title in 2015.
While his time at United started well, his form dipped earlier this year and his performances this season have been mostly underwhelming.
Nemanja Matic sums up the difference between Man United and Man City | @RobRedmond10 https://t.co/Q2uL8DaDuL
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 11, 2018
Against Manchester City on Sunday, in the 3-1 defeat to the Premier League champions, Matic struggled to get to grips with the pace of the game.
The 30-year-old appeared to be a step or two behind City’s midfield. He was arguably at fault for City’s third goal – when he lost goalscorer Ilkay Gundogan – and he didn’t get close enough to Bernardo Silva in the build-up to the hosts’ second goal of the day.
However, he remains a Mourinho favourite.
According to the report, the manager’s reluctance to drop Matic has “caused some consternation” amongst some United players. They feel that he is “practically untouchable” and retains his place regardless of his form.
If his performances do not improve, it will be interesting to see if Mourinho drops Matic in the coming weeks.
Over the last month or so, he has dropped out-of-form players who were previously guaranteed starters under him – such as Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. So, he may eventually opt to do likewise with Matic.
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