[barmyarmy]

He has one of the best first touches in our entire team

 

[Fracture90]

Good guy Mata. Home games vs. lower opposition gonna be his games where he's getting most of his minutes imo. Very good today, think he could have forced a penalty from that Pogba pass.

 

[Grunge]

I like the starting line-up and don't think Mata let his manager or his team down today. Always alert, deft tough, good energy and played nicely in behind Lukaku today.
Mata has the experience and is so versatile he will play lot's and will continue to play well. You have to like the guy!

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Great senior player to have amongst the lads.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

We might have finally found the right set of teammates for him to really thrive here.

Cracking player, was superb today.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

His connection with Valencia is so so underrated

 

[Shark]

His connection with Valencia is so so underrated

Valencia has formed few partnerships in his time here when you think about it. Rafael and Rooney in 09/10 also come to mind. I really wish Valencia could go on forever, it'll be said as feck when he hangs up his boots.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

Such an intelligent player. His runs and nifty passes adds another dimension to our play.

We're simply a better team when he plays.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

Todays side is basically what we need to see in the majority of games. Herrera comes in occasionally for tougher games but fights with matic for others. Martial and rashford fight out for left wing, but miki and mata together link up brilliantly and bring out the best in each other.

Hmm. If anything I thought they were getting into each other's way a lot. Things became a lot better in the second half when Mata tucked himself out wide out of Miki's way and let Miki do the number 10 job.

 

[ZDwyr]

He probably makes the best runs out of our entire team. Very smart player.

 

[NoPace]

Valencia has formed few partnerships in his time here when you think about it. Rafael and Rooney in 09/10 also come to mind. I really wish Valencia could go on forever, it'll be said as feck when he hangs up his boots.

Valencia is just a very easy player to form a partnership with. He's good at keeping the ball, moves off of it and does his defensive work.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Such a classy player and a fantastic player to have.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He was excellent in the first half, really involved in the game and his movement was great.

Faded a bit in the second when West Ham opened up a lot more, but still a very good performance overall

 

[Tincanalley]

Mata is small and skilful and intelligent on the ball. He is the cherry on our Mou, Matic ta-very-much- Chelski birthday cake.

 

[Kostur]

Nobody makes as many and as good runs off the ball behind the defenders as he does, did that all the time in the first half before we scored, when WHU were still parking it firmly at the back.

 

[Escobar]

I love the way our front 3 interchanged positions all the time. WH didn't know when to do what as we were all over them

 

[Irrational.]

I don't think Mata gets the love he deserves. Such a clever player.

Deserved a goal yesterday, his movement was sublime and WH really struggled picking up his runs into the box.

 

[Akshay]

I find it funny that people always point to Lingard's movement when Mata's is far superior and he actually has the technical ability to match.

I don't think there's any question that Mata is superior to Lingard in most (every?) aspects. Lingard got the most minutes last season when Mata was out injured and as soon as he was fit he came right back in for the EL final.

 

[MUFC OK]

Thought he played very well on sunday but perhaps went under the radar due to so many good performances. I honestly believe we are a better team with him playing, he seems to be contageous in terms of our ball possession and decision making. With he and miki playing together we will create a lot of chances for our forwards.

I have no stats to back this up but feels like our best performances over the last 3 years or so have come with him as a starter.

 

[BusbyMalone]

Thought he played very well. Made some great runs and was very unfortunate not to have 2 assists to his name. Worked extremely hard, too. Closed down very well and won possession back on more than one occasion.

Well done, Juan.

Hugs.

 

[Hed Zitin]

Mkhi and Mata. Only one should be picked, or maybe neither against teams that sit back. Absolutely zero creativity when it's needed the most.

 

[Minimalist]

Mkhi and Mata. Only one should be picked, or maybe neither against teams that sit back. Absolutely zero creativity.

My god the drivel you see on here

Mata is literally our creativity and Miki got two assists in our last game.

 

[M Bison]

Mkhi and Mata. Only one should be picked, or maybe neither against teams that sit back. Absolutely zero creativity when it's needed the most.

I agree. We're crying out for a wide man and then one can play as a no 10

 

[M Bison]

Poor game all round in my view. He should be playing in games at home against mid-table sides. Doesn't have the strength or pace to get on behind and always comes short of deep.

Looks great when the team plays well but if it doesn't, Neither does he.

 

[DeOddi]

Disappointing start to the season for him. Was average against West Ham and a lot worse today. I´d drop him for Martial and shift Rashford to the right wing.

 

[Van Piorsing]

No bigger worries. If Jose get his winger, he'll probably use him more central.

 

[gavdim2002]

Fantastic player. Not his best game today, but was very good against West Ham. Should be used more centrally.

 

[el3mel]

I thought his movements again were really good in the last third. He seems to get a free roaming role not just stuck to the left flank and he does this role very well.

As long as we don't have a proper RW, he's the best one to occupy this position imo. Even if he's not fast, his intelligence and movement compensate for it.

 

[Fracture90]

Played his part in stretching the defense when they parked the bus, did his job tho I'd prefer we get some with a bit more pace and power that's able to create his own chances.

Still good stuff from Mata.

 

[MadMike]

I think he was OKayish. Played more like a midfielder than attacker, kept the ball moving but didn't have much impact in the final 3rd.

My main concern is that with him and Mkhi on the pitch we are pretty narrow some times and can't stretch teams. He'll come under pressure from Martial for his starting spot.

 

[3KDré]

His off the ball movement is always creating space for others. We've got some quality depth now.

 

[Devil may care]

Quiet game from Mata, his movement was second only to Rashford's in the first half though, we just couldn't get through them.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

Don't like him and Mhki together. People are overrating his performances too. Kagawa would have been slagged off for the same standard. We need a danger man out wide. Pacey, good movement and able to beat a man.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

The criticisms are a bit odd. I thought he was the only one who kept the ball well and linked up with others to find opportunities in the 2nd half, prior to the subs.

Haven't checked the heat map yet but I'd say he didnt move into scoring positions much, all about playmaking on the wing.

 

[the hea]

Martial should start over him in the next game. It should be Mata or Mkhitaryan in the #10 position not both, I think they are to similar to be on the pitch at the same time as they tend to occupy the same space even if one of them is supposed to be on the right.

 

[Red Star One]

Happy to see him playing well. Should be replaced by Martial later in the season, but he's still quality and gives us much needed depth. I think our attack looks brilliant.

 

[Sylar]

I thought he did ok but was the right decision to sub him. Id still start him next game at home to Leicester (same lineup) but with Martial instead of Rashford.

 

[anant]

Was pretty decent. Good passing and great movement. Had Jones' header been an inch lower, we might have been talking about a great assist as well but was a quality ball

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Quiet start to the season compared to our other attacking players.

He's class though, he'll score a big goal soon enough.

 

[11101]

Cant see him starting the next game. He's been tidy without really doing anything to affect the games, unlike the others hes up against.