Nemanja Matic says supporters deserve 'much better' after Leicester City loss

United took the lead with a superb Mason Greenwood goal but eventually succumbed to Leicester pressure in the final 15 minutes of the game.

Nemanja Matic in a file photo; Credit: Twitter@NemanjaMatic
By Karthik Raman | Oct 17, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Nemanja Matic has opened up on the disappointing 4-2 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday in the Premier League. Following the lackluster performance by the Red Devils, he sent his apologies to the travelling United fans present at the King Power Stadium. Despite the demoralising nature of the defeat, the Serbian insisted the Reds remain in the title race. On Saturday, United took the lead in the East Midlands with a superb Mason Greenwood long-ranger but eventually succumbed to Leicester pressure in the final 15 minutes of the game. The Foxes scored three late goals and Marcus Rashford’s goal, which briefly levelled the score at 2-2, had little effect on the game.

“We are sorry for them [the supporters],” lamented Matic, according to the club’s website. “They support us, especially away [and] they are top. They deserve much, much better than this. We will do our best to make them happy in the future. But we have 14 points – we are still in the title race. We don’t want to give up until the end.”

Matic: It’s time to stick together

The midfielder continued: “Of course, we are disappointed. Everyone is sad, everyone is with their head down at the moment. But when you play for Man United, if you don’t win the game of course you are disappointed, but we have to stick together. 

“It’s time to stick together, to analyse this game as soon as possible, then to think about the next one, which is in three or four days against a very good side, Atalanta. It’s also going to be hard. We are very disappointed, but I think that, in the future, we will show we are much better than this.”

Matic also praised Leicester City for the level at which they played against the Red Devils on Saturday. They hardly gave a moment of breathing space for any United player – with and without the ball. It was no surprise when Matic said that they “deserved” to win. “We started with that [Greenwood] goal, which was great,” he said. “An amazing goal. But after that they controlled more of the game. They created a lot of chances. So we have to be honest; we have to say that they deserved to win.

“Was it frustrating to concede so soon after making it 2-2? Yeah, after one minute we conceded the third goal. Of course, [the] frustration was there. But sometimes you have to say when the opponent was better, and to see where we can improve, what we have to do better. Because I’m sure our team is much better than this.”

‘Every next game is a new challenge’

The Leicester match is only the start of a difficult run of fixtures for the Red Devils. United have two crucial home games coming up next – a crunch Champions League home tie against Italian side Atalanta, and then the massive visit of their fierce rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford.

“Every next game is the most important; every next game is a new challenge, an opportunity to show your qualities,” insisted Nemanja. “We’re going to take responsibility; we’re going to step up and see what we can do. I’m sure that we can do a lot.”





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