Jose Mourinho's men started the Premier League campaign with three victories but found life hard on their trip to Stoke on Saturday and had to settle for a point in a 2-2 draw.
Maxim Choupo-Moting put Stoke ahead against the run of play late in the first half, only for a Paul Pogba header to go in off Marcus Rashford just before the break.
Romelu Lukaku put Manchester United ahead early in the second half but Choupo-Moting's second earned the Potters a creditable draw.
And Matic, part of the Chelsea side which won the title last season, insists United need to beat teams like Stoke in order to become champions.
GETTY
Nemanja Matic says Manchester United need to beat teams like Stoke to win the title
If we want to be champions, we have to win games like this
Nemanja Matic
"It was a tough game," Matic told MUTV.
"To be honest, it's always a tough game when you come to this stadium.
“Stoke are a good team, so it was difficult, but we managed to get a point.
"If we want to be champions, we have to win games like this because in these games, if you win, you are champion.
"We have to know against teams like this you have to have a little bit more, you have to be concentrated and of course we're not happy with a point.
"It's always important if you can come from behind, and I think we showed spirit.
“We had the lead in the second half but they scored a goal from the corner kick. We didn't take some chances at the other end, so we could have won the game.
"It's always important to be at the top of the table if you can. I'm happy that we are still there, and we'll continue to work hard to stay there until the end of the season."
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