United can bounce back, says Matic
MANCHESTER United are capable of producing a good run against tough opponents in the coming weeks to soothe the disappointment of Saturday’s 4-2 Premier League defeat at Leicester City, midfielder Nemanja Matic said.
The result stretched United’s winless league run to three games and left them five points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of a tough fixture list, starting with Wednesday’s Uefa Champions League clash with Italian side Atalanta at Old Trafford.
United then host Liverpool and play Tottenham Hotspur away before the reverse fixture with Atalanta and the Manchester derby against champions City, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under growing pressure.
“Everyone is sad, everyone is with their head down at the moment,” Serbian Matic told United’s website yesterday.
“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.
“Every next game is the most important, every next game is a new challenge, an opportunity to show your qualities.
“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.”
Matic apologised to United fans for the team’s shambolic performance against Leicester.
“We are sorry for them. They support us, especially away, and they are top. They deserve much, much better than this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy played a “decisive” role in Saturday’s 1-0 west London derby win over newcomers
Brentford, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
Chelsea kept their grip on top spot thanks to a Ben Chilwell strike, but they owed their three points as much to goalkeeper Mendy, who pulled off a string of saves to deny Brentford an equaliser.
Mendy denied Saman Ghoddos in the 83rd minute as he rushed off his line to close down the angle, and the Frenchman turned over an acrobatic overhead effort by Christian Norgaard in injury time.
“Ed was absolutely decisive to escape with a clean sheet,” Tuchel said.
“He was very strong and very concentrated in the build-up play. Very good performance and of course the last 20 minutes, the match turned into a Cup game.
“They took a lot of risks and put a lot of bodies into our box. We could not keep them away from shooting and having the big chances.”
Goalscorer Chilwell also praised Mendy, who joined Chelsea in September 2020.
“I don’t know how many saves he made, but there were a lot of very important saves and he does it every week for us,” Chilwell told the Chelsea website.
“He bails us out, whether it’s once or twice, or in this game on several occasions. He’s a world-class goalkeeper and is the one we’ve got to thank.”