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2020-21 Performances

View full 2020-21 profile

5.9 Season Average Rating
Appearances
18
Goals
3
Assists
3
Yellow cards
0
Status
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Everton 1:3 Man Utd
Never seen him run so fast in my life.

Clearly excercising Wednesdays demons
 
Weird selection up against Lucas Digne. Poor cross in the first half wasted one counter-attack. More involved in the first half when we dominated possession. A tame shot easily blocked in the 2nd half. Surprised he stayed on as long as he did, given Everton had the ball for most of the 2nd half.

Mata has performed surprisingly well at times this season but need to be careful when to use him. We got away with it this time.
 
MadDogg said:
He started the season very well but that's two or three poor performances in a row now. Barely involved today and even when he did get involved he messed up some simple stuff that he could normally do in his sleep.
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The only really good bit of play he did today was the movement for the 1st goal.
 
kundalini said:
Weird selection up against Lucas Digne. Poor cross in the first half wasted one counter-attack. More involved in the first half when we dominated possession. A tame shot easily blocked in the 2nd half. Surprised he stayed on as long as he did, given Everton had the ball for most of the 2nd half.

Mata has performed surprisingly well at times this season but need to be careful when to use him. We got away with it this time.
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Not really, Mata ALWAYS does his work. In fact the only time Digne got into the box with space (when he hit the bar) was when him and Rashford had momentarily switched sides.

Thought he was fine today. Decent touches and good involvement for the goal.
 
Don't feel like he was particularly effective today, Van de Beek should be in that spot.
 
Not exactly his fault that he’s still being selected, but it’s akin to playing an 11-man sport with 10 players on the pitch the majority of the time he plays.
 
Robaldo said:
Not exactly his fault that he’s still being selected, but it’s akin to playing an 11-man sport with 10 players on the pitch the majority of the time he plays.
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Thats complete nonsense.

He wasn't amazing today or anything but comfortably better then Rashford or Martial for a start.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Thats complete nonsense.

He wasn't amazing today or anything but comfortably better then Rashford or Martial for a start.
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A poor Rashford was still involved in the second goal. The key word is involved, Mata was a ghost in that second half. Involved in nothing as usual.
 
Morpheus 7 said:
A poor Rashford was still involved in the second goal. The key word is involved, Mata was a ghost in that second half. Involved in nothing as usual.
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Mata was involved in the first goal?

He was also constantly working back on that right side.
 
I think we are keeping Mata because of his age. And Ole just gives him start to let everyone know that no place is guaranteed in the team. And maybe his job is more of a helping hand in grooming young players. Otherwise there is no logical reason for starting him in matches
Kinda reminds me of Laurant Blanc and what Fergie did with him in Blanc's final year at United
 
Must admit a few times in that second half I thought, wow Mata is still on the pitch!
I wonder how many 90 mins he manages a season.

Brave of Ole to start him at Everton, a ground we've often come a cropper
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Thats complete nonsense.

He wasn't amazing today or anything but comfortably better then Rashford or Martial for a start.
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Rashford and Martial were very poor today, but that’s not the case almost every time they play.
 
When we have rashford and martial we have a big problem with our buildup, their passing is poor.

Mata has weaknesses, but he helps with the linkup.
 
He is good to come on in 2nd halves against low blocked teams when we need a goal. He is a good link up player with good vision, ball controls and passing but need some space.

Those games would give him the space he needs to perform well.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Thats complete nonsense.

He wasn't amazing today or anything but comfortably better then Rashford or Martial for a start.
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Thought he was probably our worst player today personally, complete passenger. Not his fault of course he's past it and shouldn't be starting anywhere let alone right wing.

I seriously doubt a player like Mata would have started more than 10-20 games on the right wing under Ferguson. And yet he's started around 140 games for United there now under 4 different managers, amazing really.
 
I swear some of our fans have the memory of a goldfish. Mata has put in 2 or 3 man of the match type performances this season. Which one of James or Lingard should have started ahead of him on the right wing?

He wasn't great today, and I'd rather have a better 3rd option for our two wing positions, but lets not start rewriting history
 
jem said:
Nor is it the case with Mata.
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He played reasonably well against Newcastle, but hasn’t produced anything in other games this season.

Like I said in my original post, it’s not his fault that we haven’t settled on an effective alternative, but right-wing has probably been our biggest problem since about 2016.
 
Robaldo said:
He played reasonably well against Newcastle, but hasn’t produced anything in other games this season.

Like I said in my original post, it’s not his fault that we haven’t settled on an effective alternative, but right-wing has probably been our biggest problem since about 2016.
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Really? I recall him playing very well in the Carabao Cup games (or was it FA Cup?) before the Newcastle match. He also produced a few chances against Chelsea, which was more than just about anybody else in that game. And 'reasonably well' against Newcastle is a ridiculous understatement.
 
Man Utd 1:0 West Brom
Struggled to have any impact on the match. Made a few runs off the ball but ultimately lacked the pace to reach the pass.
 
He shouldn’t be here, let alone starting for us.
 
So so slow in his play and buildup today. Looked a yard off pace in every ball or something.
 
Love Mata but the only games he should be starting are cup games.

How he's even ahead of VDB in the pecking order is stupid.
 
Mata was anonymous tonight. He gives all he's got but its not enough 9 times out of 10. We haven't had a right winger since we got rid of Nani and Januzaj. That was five years ago. Its not Mata's fault that he's not that. However, its clearly harming us that we keep playing him in that position. Especially as Wan-Bissaka offers pretty much nothing.
 
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Every single player we have whose contract is out this summer, should be let go - Mata included. I feel like he’s wasted his best years for us. Had he played for Barca, City or Bayern I think he’d have been phenomenal. We’ve had far too few players of his ilk to make him tick and it all - to me - seems wasted on Mata’s behalf.

Hope he finds another great club soon and flourishes.
 
He should be playing in the MLS. The game is too quick for him in the PL now. His legs can't keep up with his brain.

Been a wonderful player (mainly at previous clubs) but he's not that player anymore.
 
So slow. Himself and Matic look well past it. Ole Yeller comes to mind.
 
Not his fault we've not addressed right Wing but I swear he is frustrating as feck.

Can't run, can't tackle, awfully weak. It seems the game is just too intense for him.
 
He is what he is. There's nothing surprising about his poor performances, just as there's nothing surprising about his good performances. That mix is what you get and would still justify his place as an experienced squad option.

The fact that he's actually starting for us is the problem and that's down to our transfer failures, not Mata. He's doing what he can.
 
That spell where he kept doing dummies to absolutely no one over and over again for about 5 minutes was one of the most frustrating periods of football I can remember.
 
The armchair critics are out in force today it seems. Keep reading the usual crap about Mata when he is far from being the worst player on the pitch. His involvement lead to our goal, he made a few good runs, and he was solid when in the penalty area as usual. Not a great game by any means, but far from the mare being described in here.
 
The three Ms were terrible today. Mata was as bad as the other two Ms. The WBA player as silly enough to put his hand out for the penalty.
 
Every time he got the ball today I thought he was about to lose it because he's just so slow and so easy to close down.
 
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