8
But he was brilliant today? Well in that second half... best player on the pitch.
I thought his all round game was pretty average. Got bullied off the ball way too much.
Can't remember him losing it that much in the second. Might just be my view from the stand (though people next to me seemed in agreement)... he was the main reason we started the second half well, and why it continued until injury time. There was no space in the middle in that first half, yet in the second, with him in there he used his intelligence to find space and would then drive us forward. He used the ball very smartly and his quality particularly showed in tight spaces.
It's not a popular opinion but I feel the same, I'd personally replace him with a conductor like Pjanic/Gundogan or a blisteringly quick attacker like Reus if we can in the summer.
That's the thing with Mata I guess. He can be invisible in first half, then improve his game in the second, and it seems to be enough to make him MotM. Well I don't get this, I thought there was quite a few players better than him overall. In first half Stoke was quite compact and all he did was play an easy pass back. In the second the game opened up a bit, and he loved it. He has fantastic ability to keep the ball in play, something we could use especially in the latter stages where we often lose shape and panic.Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Agree, would really like to see a Carrick, Fellaini, Di Maria and Herrera at the tip.
I get your point and I love Silva as a player but in our case given we have other players who can influence the game (Rooney and Di Maria mainly, Carrick from lower on the field), I think productivity shouldn't be taken for granted. His goals against Palace and Stoke have effectively won us 4 points just recently.
Nah, I think people just want to see him controlling the games more and providing creativity because we lack that aside from Di Maria. Mata doesn't offer that. Yes, he scores a lot of goals and can give an assist, but creativity? Since Moyes brought him, I seriously haven't seen more than 3 cutting passes from him.
I don’t think one game makes Mata good defensively. It’s just we have been much better in defense and with Fellaini our midfield is looking much stronger.
I know, but like I said, I'm far more of an admirer of a #10 who can constantly influence games across the 90 minutes, someone like Silva or Iniesta, obviously they're extreme examples but even at the weekend I felt Herrera was far more influential overall as a #10 than Mata has ever been for us there. I do definitely think his stats are misguiding, you have to consider the amount of chances that would be created from the overall better level of play we'd have with someone of the Silva ilk in our team, too.
When did he ever control a game at Chelsea? That's not the type of player he is. We all know that, it's unrealistic to expect him to do that here. If giving assists isn't creativity then i don't know what is. Unless you would much rather see Di Maria whip 100 crosses into the box and only a handful of them reach a United player. Di Maria offers pace and the ability to go past his man with ease, Mata is more intelligent on the ball and doesn't give it away very often. Play them both together and we would have a deadly combination.
Forget controlling the game like Silva then, he rarely does that "killer pass". Most of the times he simply plays it safe which is not what we want, do we? From a N10 player you expect creativity and the ability to split defences. Mata, unfortunately, hasn't offered any of that. Maybe it's just me though.
Numbers are what win games. I don't understand. It's like saying - I don't care if he scores goals, he should be out of the team.. Well goals and assists win games. If he keeps providing them, why would you drop him?
Yeah thats great stats, like striker quality 1 in 2 almost. And thats pretty much 20 a season which would be a phenomenal return. But there is something he doesnt offer. He's a luxury player as he's not always in the game and at times isnt doing much. But stats and productivity wise maybe he should start. He also definitely suits LVG's tactic of possession and links well with his pal Herrera.
Of course not. Even if he's not automatic first choice he'll get more than enough games to keep him happy. And let's face it, half our players are injured at any given point in time, so he might as well be first choice.
Couldn't believe it when I saw him (Rojo) trying to claim it.
