Man Utd were outplayed for most of the first half against Bournemouth on Saturday, and one player in particular came under fire from many supporters.
The hosts seemed to bypass the United midfield with ease which in turn left the defence exposed on several occasions, particularly with Bournemouth’s quick, sharp passing in mind.
SEE MORE: Video: Porous Man Utd defence exposed again as Callum Wilson breaks deadlock for Bournemouth
A big problem in that was Matic’s inability to keep up with the pace of the game, while he was also singled out for Bournemouth’s goal as Man Utd were carved open down their left flank before Callum Wilson tapped home.
The Serbian international has undoubtedly been an influential figure at times for the Red Devils, but it clearly isn’t a new problem in the opinion of the fans below, as they have raised real concerns over his lack of solidity in midfield.
Whether it’s a case of age catching up with the 30-year-old and he isn’t able to cover ground like he did at Chelsea or perhaps an issue with how Jose Mourinho sets his team up and leaves him exposed. Something clearly isn’t working, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
While Anthony Martial bagged an equaliser to give United a chance of taking something away from the game, the issues in midfield and defence will continue to be a problem for Mourinho, both in this game and moving forward.
That’s now 18 goals conceded in just 11 league games this season, as they are simply too easy to break down.
While Chelsea fans would have seen signs of a decline when Matic was sold, it appears as though their prediction is now coming true…
Chelsea fans told us Matic was finished
They was right.
— Utd! (@HQManUtd) November 3, 2018
£40m for Nemanja Matic. What were they smoking over there at Old Trafford?
— CFC (@CFCWriter) November 3, 2018
Remember when Matic was a bargain?
Oh what a great 6 months that was.— Aidan Walsh ? (@AidanWalshMUFC) November 3, 2018
A deflated ball could roll past Matic on the basis of these first 25 minutes. Way off the pace. #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 3, 2018
Was Matic replaced with his dad at the end of last season, he’s like a 50 year old version of what we seen last season
— emyoueffsee (@donlaarindini) November 3, 2018
Looking forward to Nemanja Matic getting the Romelu Lukaku treatment soon and being dropped. Andreas Pereira was dropped after having a poor game, Matic has had a poor season but still starts every week #mufc
— United Peoples TV (@UnitedPeoplesTV) November 3, 2018
Matic is absolutely useless. May as well stick a tumble dryer in our midfield
— Wark Woldbridge (@markgoldbridge) November 3, 2018
Said it on the blog last week that I felt Matic was finished. Got one decent season out of him. Bad bit of business? Chelsea having last laugh with Jorginho?
— StrettyNews.com (@StrettyNews) November 3, 2018
I know it might seem like I have an “agenda” against Matic but honestly he’s fucking shit. He offers nothing apart from giving the ball away.
Chelsea fans said he was shit.
Do you think Chelsea would sell Kante? No, yet they had no problem selling Matic for a reason#MUFC #CFC
— AxAs (@AxAs23) November 3, 2018
This united defence is a joke. Matic for 40 million is the best business ever done.#BOUMUN #CFC
— Chelsea Uncensored (@nagarsaki_cfc) November 3, 2018
