Young Player Of The Week – Matija Nastasic

Manchester City are in the groove, having won three of their last four Premier League matches and have their 100% home record still intact after destroying Norwich City 7-0 on Saturday.

Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva were all fantastic as Manuel Pellegrini’s men put the Canaries to the sword, but Matija Nastasic was another standout performer from the back, earning the acclaim of being Squawka’s Young Player of the Weekend.

The Serbia international scored 84 in the Performance Score ranking system, six ahead of Cardiff City’s match winner, Steven Caulker.

Nastasic joined in with the free scoring attitude at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, notching City’s third goal in the demolition.

He didn’t have an awful lot to do defensively as Norwich offered little in attack but he did win his only tackle and all four headed duels, earning a 100% duel success rate. That was 50% better than Caulker, his nearest rival for Young Player of the Weekend.

Nastasic also completed two interceptions high up the pitch, helping the team transition quickly into an attack. He also completed six clearances.

His passing was impressive, too, completing 61 out of 64 passes giving him a pass success rate of 95%. That percentage was the best out of the City players to have played more than 13 passes. Jesus Navas and James Milner both had 100% success rates but played a combined 21 passes between them.

It was a tidy performance from the 20-year-old who has seamlessly settled into City’s defence since his move from Fiorentina last summer. His partnership with Vincent Kompany is a solid one but with the Belgian out injured, Nastasic has held his game together well, impressing for large parts this season.

If he keeps up this type of form, he won’t lose that starting spot anytime soon.