Manchester United’s campaign has divided opinions this term, and the club’s inconsistency is already threatening to end their season even before it has kicked off in full gear.
Following their first win since September after weekend’s clash against a struggling Swansea side, the Red Devils moved to 6th on the league table.
However, they are still 8 points away from the zenith and would have to get better if they are to make anything worthwhile of their ambitions.
A key player who could make that near possible is Spain international midfielder, Juan Mata. From the figures, the former Chelsea player is the unlikely star of this Jose Mourinho-led team. Not Pogba, not Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In 11 league games, Manchester United have lost 3, drawn 3 and won 5. Mata has started 7, and United didn’t lose any of those games, while United failed to win any of the 4 games the midfielder wasn’t included in the starting XI.
It comes as a surprise given that nobody saw this coming at the beginning of the season. Jose’s arrival at Old Trafford was supposed to signal the exit of Mata – with whom he fell out with at the Stamford Bridge and eventually sanctioned his sales having deemed him surplus to requirements.
His ridiculing by the Portuguese against Leicester City in the Community Shield further pointed to a sure exit, with Jose choosing to remove Mata just some 15 minutes after introducing him as a 2nd half substitute.
In a turn of events, not only has Mata remained at United and opened Mourinho’s tenure in the EPL in charge of the club by grabbing his first goal of the topflight campaign, surprisingly, he has also become very integral in the setup, and United struggle for creativity in the final third without him on the pitch.
Only 5 players in the EPL has a better pass accuracy (90.8%) than the 28-year-old this term, while he is only behind Pogba (220) in Manchester United for most passes completed (155) and that is mainly because he doesn’t start regulary for the Devils.
Regardless of whether he gets deployed as an attacking midfielder right behind the lone striker, or on the right wing, this dynamically versatile gem has come out tops in most of his battles.
Mata has only failed to complete a take-on once out of all 10 he has attempted thus far, and has become a better player than he was under van Gaal.
He hardly losses the ball, with opposition players only able to rob him of possession at a rate of 0.4 times per game due to his diminutive figure.
In 9 total appearances in the top flight this term, Mata has scored twice, assisted once, and averaged 1.9 shots, 1.8 key passes and a dribble per game.
Lining him up for Manchester United games will help Jose’s side accrue much-needed points as they attempt to finish in top 4, and it won’t be surprising if his contributions eventually help the Red Devils achieve their ambitions this in the end.
Juan Mata hasn’t only become very important for the team, he is proving to be an unlikely star in the setup for Mourinho. There is a feeling that he would only get better as the campaign gets tougher. His performances point towards it.