Nemanja Matic was pretty incredible against Stoke City, but even when we watched him then we knew that a sterner test was coming in the form of a trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City. Yaya Toure and Fernandinho are a very tough midfield pair, and it was on Matic to shut the former -- City's key player over the last three seasons -- down. Was the Serbian up to the test?
Why, yes he was. Granted, his life was made easier thanks to Fernandinho's absence due to injury, but it's pretty obvious from the video above that he had the better of Toure throughout and was a key element in shutting down the City midfield. There are some great moments here: quick passes to start counterattacks, crunching tackles, surging runs, but my favourite bit is the shot that smacked off the angle of post and bar in the second half, mostly for Martin Demichelis' expression of utter disbelief.
"This is your defensive midfielder," the Argentinian seemed to say. "And I am ours. Uh-oh."
