The new Manchester United midfielder started in the Super Cup final but how did he get on?
Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic may be short of pre-season fitness after joining his new teammates later than hoped, but he started against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening and went on to play the whole match in testing conditions.
The Serbia international arrived at Old Trafford from Chelsea earlier this summer, giving United manager Jose Mourinho the holding midfielder he craved and allowing Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera to have more impact further up the field.
Unfortunately for United they were unable to beat the Spanish giants to the Super Cup, coming up short against the passing nous and attacking ability of the best team in Europe.
That said, Matic eased himself into the game well and rarely did anything wrong, even if some fans wonder if it would be money well spent on the £40million man.
The simple fact is a lot of Matic’s work will go unnoticed, while he is going to take a few weeks before he is up to speed after missing United’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Mourinho’s side looked a different prospect when Marouane Fellaini came off the bench, proving yet again why the Belgian remains an integral part of United’s plans even if some supporters will never warm to him.
As for Matic, he will see this match as another step on the road to full match sharpness, with the domestic action kicking off against West Ham United this weekend.
After the match against Real we took to Twitter to see what United fans thought of Matic’s performance and you can read a selection of what we found below:
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