Stability man Matic already making Devils tick

LONDON: As Nemanja Matic was winning towering headers, intercepting passes, dribbling round opponents and generally running the midfield in his first English Premier League game for Manchester United, imagine what Antonio Conte must have been thinking.

The Chelsea coach didn’t want to sell Matic, particularly not to a title rival like United. But an offer of £ 40mil ( RM222mil) for a 29- year- old was too good for Chelsea’s hierarchy to turn down.

It could prove to be one of the most pivotal pieces of business done in the off-season.

Romelu Lukaku stole the spotlight in United’s 4-0 win over West Ham but it was Matic – a player costing around half as much this summer – who was the key to the performance.

He dominated Old Trafford in his first match there as a United player, looking every inch the holding midfielder the team needs with Michael Carrick nearing the end of his time at the club.

“He is a player I call a stability player,” Mourinho said of Matic.

He was more than that against West Ham.

In a man-of-the-match display, he made more passes (69) and covered more distance ( 11.41km) than anybody else on the field, while he won more tackles and had more touches (89) than any other United player.

One minute Matic was beating three players with sublime skill and racing down the right touchline.

The next he was scooping a pass, Karel Poborsky-style, to Paul Pogba to set up another attack.

He won big headers from goal kicks and long clearances by West Ham, and read the game masterfully.

Eric Bailly and Phil Jones, United’s centrebacks, generally cruised through the 90 minutes with Matic in front of them.

Asked if it was a surprise that Chelsea sold Matic to United, Mourinho said: “It depends on what is happening, or what was happening behind doors.

“I don’t know. Only thing I know is that, of course, with Chelsea money, I brought him to Stamford Bridge because I thought he was a player with special qualities.

“And since I left, I always thought he could be a perfect player for us.”