Nemanja Matic has warned his Manchester United teammates that their victory over Tottenham earlier this season will count for nothing in the reverse fixture on Saturday.
United are preparing to face Spurs at Old Trafford this weekend, with Ralf Rangnick's side hoping to bounce back following the humiliating 4-1 defeat to neighbours Manchester City. Spurs, meanwhile, could record their third consecutive league win with a victory.
United ran out 3-0 winners when the two sides last met in what was a brief reprieve in the final weeks of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford grabbing the goals. However, Matic says a lot has changed since then and the result back in October matters little.
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“It’s always good when you win the game, but that game [at Tottenham] is a long time ago,” the Serbian told the club's in-house media. "We have to be focused now more because, since then, they change the manager, we also changed the manager, so we have to take this game as a new challenge.
"We know it’s going to be very hard, especially because the last match they played some good football, they won 5-0 against Everton. It’s going to be very interesting and I’m sure we’ll be ready.
“They played very well as a team [against Everton]. I watched the last game and Harry Kane is in a good moment. It will be a hard game for us but I’m sure we’ll have a response for that.”
The match may also have massive ramifications in the race for a Champions League place, with United dropping out of the top four last weekend after being leapfrogged by Arsenal. Should Spurs win at Old Trafford, they too will go above United and will still have two games in hand. Matic has expressed how important it is for United to grab the win on Saturday.
“For us, every game is a final until the end of the season,” he added. “We have to win almost every game to secure the Champions League place, so I’m sure that we’ll be mentally ready and physically, I’m sure we’ll do everything to win [on Saturday].”
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