Winner against Chelsea.
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 4
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
His last appearance against United for Chelsea... a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. The scorer... none other than Juan Mata.
Yeah once you get pulled a bit wide, it's much harder to score. He took it superbly
You're, right, meant HerreraDo you mean "him and Herrera"?
Mata was, once again, excellent and gave loads of trouble to Clichy. As TRDA pointed out, he was very intelligent and drifted infield to take advantage of spaces in the middle when we overloaded our left side. Him drifting in caused Man. City so many problems as Yaya was attracted to Fellaini and Fernandinho to Herrera. His understanding of the situations is amazing, and I'm sure van Gaal would be very happy with Mata as he currently suits van Gaal's philosophy to the tee.
Louis van Gaal had stated prior to the sale he wanted to work in England but back then Spurs were the club interested in him. Moyes stated his surprise that he signed Juan in January saying they had been working on the deal for a while but expected it to happen in the summer.
A conspiracy theory would be Mourinho sold Mata to Moyes (as opposed to finding a club abroad) thinking he'd at least keep himself in a job thus making dominating the league easier for himself but in truth that's highly unlikely, I doubt Mourinho cares if Louis van Gaal lays down the foundations and then Pep takes over.
Would make my life.
He's starting to replicate the form he had at Chelsea. Truly world class.
That would be brilliant
Oh yes please.
Loving his form at the moment, some of his passing is effortlessly sublime
Good finish today, felt he needed to get a bit more involved in the 2nd half after being on the periphery in the first half. And he did just that with the goal
Again (not the first time) Mata and Ander both made the most tackles for us today with 3 each. Cant defend? Okay Jose
Also he now has 4 goals and 1 assist in his 4 starts on the right for us this season. Cant play on the wing? Another myth debunked
Again (not the first time) Mata and Ander both made the most tackles for us today with 3 each. Cant defend? Okay Jose
Also he now has 4 goals and 1 assist in his 4 starts on the right for us this season. Cant play on the wing? Another myth debunked
He was always a big game player for Chelsea. He had a fantastic record against the best sides and in important games.
He seemed to always play well against us for a start!
He's now starting to replicate his performances at Chelsea, when he's playing like that, he's fantastic to watch.
I love his false winger position, it allows him to get around and if he is out of position, Herrera will fill in. It's surprisingly effective.
Well Jose said when he sold Mata that he need to work harder in defence and if he would change his game a little he would be in the first team at Chelsea tbh. But Mata wanted to leave and he was sold because of that, not because Jose didn't wanted him.
Same happened to Mata at the start of the season when he was out of the first team. I think Mata saw what is wrong and listened to LVG and we now see the improvement Jose wanted. Mata is definetly working much harder in defence as he did last year at Chelsea. His attacking contribution was never questioned.
Same happened to Herrera, he is much more disciplined player now as he was at the start of the season. For me there is no surprise that the players who are willing to listen are the players who most improved (Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Carrick).
Same happened to Mata at the start of the season when he was out of the first team. I think Mata saw what is wrong and listened to LVG and we now see the improvement Jose wanted. Mata is definetly working much harder in defence as he did last year at Chelsea. His attacking contribution was never questioned.
Same happened to Herrera, he is much more disciplined player now as he was at the start of the season. For me there is no surprise that the players who are willing to listen are the players who most improved (Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Carrick).
When he went through on goal, I was just praying, watching those little legs close in on goal. Topped off yet another great performance.
He is a pleasure to watch. Hugs.
He is a pleasure to watch. Hugs.
Yup, this is a big improvement in his game and i think that's why van gaal trusts him now.
This. Never seen him do it before tbh.
Hugs.
It's uncanny. Hart closed his angles off extremely well but Mata went in between the legs. He has nerves of steel when he is in those situations.
I think that was helped by the fact that Silva was on his flank and doing the same thing, but yeah, I like seeing that from Mata. It's exactly how I thought Kagawa could've played for us. The fact that Herrera is in the team is a big part of this working.
I never had any doubt he would score as soon as he was bearing down on Hart.
Hugs.
I doubted Mata early in the season, but I was wrong. Very wrong. The team balance we have at the moment is just perfect, and Mata is a huge part of that. Also, he is absolutely ruthless in front of goal. An assassin. Please score against Chelsea
He has a striker's instinct inside the box. And as stats show there aren't many better in terms of efficiency in front of goal. He doesn't need many chances.
absolute disgrace spain didn't call him
Which is so valuable to us. We've not had many players you could say that about in recent times. He's a huge asset going forward, in more ways than one.
HUGS
For a player who isn't a deadly striker, his calmness bearing down on goal is quite simply brilliant. You can see in one of the angles, he is running, looking at Hart and the goal while still taking touches on the ball. Amazing ball control in a pressure situation.
For those wanting him to score the winner at the Bridge, as much as that would send me over the edge, he is just too nice to do that to Chelsea. He will round the keeper and square it to Herrera for a tap in.
For those wanting him to score the winner at the Bridge, as much as that would send me over the edge, he is just too nice to do that to Chelsea. He will round the keeper and square it to Herrera for a tap in.
His finish for the first goal at Anfield and the goal yesterday were fantastic, neither of those were easy but he made it look so simple. He's class.
Now where's that new blog, Juan??
Now where's that new blog, Juan??
Yes, yesterday's finish was pretty spectacular in fairness. Hart did everything right, but Juan just completely waited him out (takes extreme composure), and as soon as Hart blinked he pounced at exactly the right moment and put it between his legs before the gap closed.
A lot of people will see that as an easy goal, a one on one against the keeper, but in truth even very decent strikers will miss those more often than not in that angle, coming up against a keeper of Hart's calibre.
Thought he actually had a quieter game yest. But then all the play was down the left so makes sense. But took his goal excellently.
Surely the best finisher in our squad?
High praise when you consider the strikers we have.
High praise when you consider the strikers we have.
Yes, it was a wierd decision to sell him. However, we did pay a premium price, so it's not like he gave him away. I think it was a fair deal for everyone involved.I also noticed the bald patch. Imagine if he did turn into Zidane
I just wish they'll find a way to combine all our attacking options. It shouldn't be unrealistic to use Di Maria and Mata at the same time. Would be nice to see them match. It's just that their playing style is a bit different. There has been some magic when Di Maria is assisting Mata with some passas like the one vs Liverpool, but there has got to be more to it than that when you look at their talent.
We have always known that Mata offers a lot going forwards, this was never in question. His limitations are that he is a luxury player who offers very little defensively - I think this is why he struggled to get gametime in central positions under Mourinho, and has similarly been using by LVG out wide. It is no coincidence that LVG prefers players like Fellaini and Rooney in the central positions, who offer better workrate and tracking back whilst still contributing in attack.
I am pleased that Mata has come into form, especially now at the crucial end of the season, but for a player who can be a complete passenger, I feel he needs to be performing at this sort of level to justify his place in the team.
I am pleased that Mata has come into form, especially now at the crucial end of the season, but for a player who can be a complete passenger, I feel he needs to be performing at this sort of level to justify his place in the team.
I actually think he's starting to surpass his Chelsea form. He's becoming a more complete player and almost something of a terrier in this current system with his tackles and pressing - both of which are not only becoming more frequent, but also more effective and are done with the high intelligence the rest of his game is played at.
He's not a luxury player. A luxury player doesn't show up in big games (Liverpool, City). Its true he doesn't offer much defensively but his defensive frailties have been overplayed.
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