Those stats are meaningless w/o context. Matic was poor the whole game, and got lassoed several times (as in WBA player approaches pushed ball around him and is gone with matic in his dust). He rarely gets dribbled by because he is rarely close enough for that to become a stat. I remember late in the second half he tried a counter and the WBA Cm just calmly ran from behind straight in front of him ad took the ball away - like watching an old man play.I thought Matic and Fred were OK against WBA. Feels like Fred is more comfortable alongside McTominay, but Matic was fine. The problem is he can't last 90'.
It's kind of a problem, because considering the number of games we play this season and how frequently, I think McTominay will have to be key player in midfield.
Midfield stats updated
We seem to be doing pretty well with Matic-Fred midfield.
Matic had 89% of passing accuracy with total number of 94 (1 key pass) and won 3/4 aerial duels. I thought he moved the ball well. However, surprisingly had only 1/4 successful tackles, 2 interceptions and was dribbled 3 times. That's not good enough for defensive midfielder IMO.
Fred pass success was very good (92% of 56 passes), but he had only 3/8 successful tackles and was dribbled 5 times. I will keep a closer look on that stat to compare them in the future.
I was shocked at first that Ole took Fred off and left him on, but he was clearly saving Fred for the must-win game this Tuesday in Europe.