Matic believes United now have the qualities to sustain title bid
NEMANJA Matic believes Manchester United showed their title credentials by beating Burnley to go top of the Premier League heading into Sunday’s mouthwatering clash at Liverpool.
Paul Pogba’s second-half volley fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s everimproving side to their ninth win of an impressive 11-match unbeaten league run, with Tuesday’s 1-0 victory propelling them above Jurgen Klopp’s reigning champions.
United had to dig deep, remain patient and regain their composure after frustration threatened to bubble over at the end of the first half to win at Turf Moor, where they went top at this stage of the season for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s victorious farewell 2012-13 season.
“I think that this kind of win shows that we are ready to compete for the title,” Matic, a two-time Premier League winner during his time at Chelsea, said.
“Sometimes (in the past) we looked like a team who wants to score as soon as possible, then we get panicked.
“I think today we showed more maturity, we showed that we are more clever and on this pitch here, in this stadium against Burnley, it’s always hard to win the games.
“Not to concede a goal from the long balls, set-pieces, so we prepared the game well and I think that we deserved these three points.
“In our team we have lots of quality and in these kind of games you have to use that.
“You have to be patient, not to panic, because when you have that much quality during 90 minutes one situation will decide (the game) and it was exactly what we did today.
“I’m happy. I’m happy for the team, for the team performance, for our team spirit and let’s see Sunday against Liverpool.
“It’s the biggest derby in England. We go there to compete with them, to see where we are (against) one of the best teams in the league, so I think that we are ready.”
United head to Anfield on Sunday boasting a three-point cushion over their nearest rivals - a far cry from the 30-point gap that Klopp’s men opened up over the Red Devils when they last met in January 2020.