Nemanja Matic: Young players did an amazing job in the Leicester City defeat

Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has praised young players’ display in the 1-2 Premier League defeat against Leicester City on Tuesday. He believes the youngsters have a bright future at the club following their performances at Old Trafford on Tuesday. United made 10 changes to their line-up against Leicester City, with only Mason Greenwood retaining his place from the weekend. The Serbian captained the club on Tuesday as Anthony Elanga and Amad Diallo started the match at Old Trafford.

For Elanga, it was a first appearance in any senior competition for Manchester United after joining the club at under-12 level. Meanwhile, Amad has been with the Red Devils from January, having moved from Atalanta. He also has a goal to his name, which he scored against AC Milan in the Europa League. Earlier Luke Thomas put Leicester in front but quickly Amad assisted Mason Greenwood for the equaliser. Caglar Soyuncu’s second-half header helped the Foxes win the match.

‘Can count on them’

“The young players who played tonight did an amazing job and showed that the club can count on them in the future,” Matic told the club media. “They showed that they will be very important for our club in the future. They played with personality, they showed the character, so I was very happy to see them on the pitch.”

“The way they played was great, against a very good side in Leicester, it’s not easy to play. I remember when I was young, that I always watched the older players to see how they behave, how they play, how they train. I always try to be an example for the young players. I hope that I can help them.”

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 10 changes to the side that had defeated Aston Villa on Sunday following fixture congestion. “It was not easy to prepare for this game,” admitted Matic. “I have to say that I’m very happy with the way we played, especially in the first half. Of course, in the second half, we should have created more opportunities to score that second goal to kill the game. We are not happy when we lose a game.”

“As you saw today, the manager had to make lots of changes to the team. Playing every second day is not easy, we don’t have enough time to prepare our game in the best way. We’ll try to recover as soon as possible and be ready for the Liverpool game. It’s not easy and it’s not usual – normally it’s every three days – but we have to be ready, be fresh because, as you know, [Liverpool is] the most important game for our supporters.”