I've always been a Mata fan and I really want him to stay. If LvG is true to his word and starts players based on form rather than name we should be seeing him instead of Di Maria at Anfield and I really hope that's the case. Loved his partnership with Herrera and Valencia, need to see more.
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 4
- Yellow cards
- 2
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I was thinking the same thing.It was the confirmation bias that got into people's head as he was benched for the whole month and people was calling for him to be back to the XI.All of our 5 other non-defenders were better than him.His performance was decent at best which is fine considering it's his first game back but I totally don't get the praise.
The second goal came from his corner (true, its just a corner - but with our shit standards of corner this season, the fact that he actually took a decent one that we scored from should be appreciated) - and we earned that corner thanks to his immaculate touch from a Spurs clearance that allowed us to launch a quick attack and get the corner. He also nearly got on the end of both a Fellaini and Rooney cut-back (He could have done better for the Fellaini one, and Rooney should have done better with his cut-back, still two good opportunites though) Not saying that any of these were especially creative moments - but it was little things, like a fine first touch, or a quick pass or good movement that added to our overall quicker tempo of play. He was also able to drift inside and add an extra body in-field, and generally just took up good positions where he was always available to receive the ball.
It's not a coincidence we played quicker football with him, Herrera and Carrick on the pitch at the same time. Herrera didn't contribute to any of our goals either, but he was still effective/creative when we had the ball.
In terms of ball retention, I think Mata offers a lot more than Di Maria. Not sure we can afford Di Maria giving the ball away non-stop at Anfield. On the other hand, Di Maria can create assists out of nowhere. Good problem to have, but as Mata played well yesterday and Di Maria is still trying to recover his best form, I'd stick with Mata.
Think Mata was excellent yesterday, and played a big part in us being able to keep onto the ball and create chances. Although played out wide, he was given the license to cut in at times and link up with Herrera, whilst Valencia overlapped.
Neat, tidy passing and excellent first touches is all well and good but it should go without saying that he needs to be creating more chances. Other than a couple of set pieces he never really threatened to create anything. Needs to shift away from his comfort zones and take a lot more risks on the ball. In comparison the likes of Young and Fellaini looked much more threatening on the ball and ran rings around the Spurs defense.
He was my MoTM yesterday; immense game from him. Carrick however, made the world of difference to the midfield yesterday as he allowed Mata and Herrera a lot more freedom to roam. It's one of the reasons why Dembele came on at halftime, Carrick had way too much options on the ball in the first half.
He keeps the ball and his movement is good. Yesterday he also worked hard defensively until tiring in the second half. He wasn't spectacular but for his first start in about 2 months he did well.
Only our fans could see a performace like we got yesterday and then start pulling a players performance apart. They all played well.
Watching the game over since I couldn't properly watch it yesterday on my phone...
But that touch he had right before our corner for the 2nd goal
Also, gotta love the understanding he has with herrera. Class.
But that touch he had right before our corner for the 2nd goal
Also, gotta love the understanding he has with herrera. Class.
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I give mine to Herrera, but as you said, Carrick playing allowed Herrera and Mata to do what they do best, which is to play free flowing football. It was a joy to watch yesterday. Long may it continue.
It's bizzare how Young and Mata absolutely destroyed Rose and Walker given the fact both are quite small and not very strong, and neither are blisteringly fast either. The movement and passing was outstanding.
It has to continue at those levels though.
It has to continue at those levels though.
If you put Mata's footballing ability, in Valencia's body, you'd probably have one of the top 3 players in the world.
Its so frustrating to see his physical limitations hamper him to much at times. But despite that, it was bloody great to see him back in the team. He's just a great footballer who's presence tends to result in a better class of football. I hope he can establish himself as part of our first XI.
Its so frustrating to see his physical limitations hamper him to much at times. But despite that, it was bloody great to see him back in the team. He's just a great footballer who's presence tends to result in a better class of football. I hope he can establish himself as part of our first XI.
A Mata-Valencia hybrid.... But would he smile?
Young isn't small, he's 5'10.
Walker is a noticeably bigger unit (and noticeably shit too).
After consulting wikipedia, you are right, he is not 5'10 he's 5'9. I guess me being 5'8 like Mata everyone is taller
@NotoriousISSY Young is actually quite fast, I think. He doesn't seem as quick as he did in his Villa days, but he is definitely a quick player - it's just that Walker is a sprinter, pretty much the only thing he actually offers as a footballer.
Valid points, especially with respect to corners, DiMaria's are awful. I still think Mata would be more useful if he would look for and at least try a few through passes to our striker(s) and also attempt more one-twos at the top of the box. Carrick, although adopting a more defensive position, appears more creative and seems to produce beautiful central passes to our striker(s).
One thing that always bugged me. Why didn't they let Mata take all the set pieces? Not even one lausy corner!
He took them from the left side didn't he? We've been doing out-swinging corners lately and it's actually worked pretty well (in terms of goals scored). Generally we were a threat from most set pieces as well vs Spurs.
I might be getting old. I don't remember him taking a single set piece against Spurs.
He took the corner for our second goal, don't remember the others from that side but I know he took that one for sure. No idea about free kicks though.
He should take all corners at least.
I actually don't like his corner taking, he floats them too high. Doesn't hit the first man at least but it's hard to get any power on those kind of deliveries. Helps get it to Fellaini though, I guess and we saw what he can do.
Think Rooney and RVP are our best corner takers, RVP for penalties, di Maria for deep FKs, and Rooney or Mata for direct FKs.
Think Rooney and RVP are our best corner takers, RVP for penalties, di Maria for deep FKs, and Rooney or Mata for direct FKs.
I was surprised at how effective he was even starting out wide right. I guess playing our 3 best passers, Blind, Carrick and Mata helps us increase the tempo by moving the ball faster rather than simply rely on pace of the player. Also looked defensively active even if he looks like a tiny pug nipping at someone's heels to let him out.
He should take all the set pieces really, his free kicks are almost always pinpoint and his corners are pretty consistent... Got loads of goals and assists from them at Chelsea as well.
100% agreed. Who could forget his free-kicks against us, and that cat-like save DDG made once.
If for nothing other than the fact that he can neither attack or defend when a set piece is taken so unless he takes it himself, he's useless on the pitch for that duration.
Hope we start Mata over Di Maria on Sunday again, he has been poor recently and his suspension was a blessing in disguise, I would be pretty annoyed if he got given a starting place because he's Di Maria who cost 60m where as Mata deserves one over form
I didn't think Mata was exceptional against Tottenham, but then it'd be unfair to expect too much from him considering how much of our play went down the opposite flank. He did well, brilliant touch and ball retention throughout and he put in a shift which was nice to see. Not all your players can be match-winners in a single game.
I mentioned in the match day thread how natural Mata and Herrera look playing together. Convenient observation given their nationality I know, but it's not the first time I've noticed it.Watching the game over since I couldn't properly watch it yesterday on my phone...
But that touch he had right before our corner for the 2nd goal
Also, gotta love the understanding he has with herrera. Class.
He and the rest of the team that started again Spurs at least deserve the chance to fail against Liverpool.
I'm not that surprised to be honest. He's been playing on the wing for much of his career. During his time in Valencia and Chelsea, he mostly played from the right side, and he relishes the freedom he gets from that wide attacking midfielder role.
I wrote earlier in this thread that Mata brings a fluency to our passing and him and Herrera playing together see us move the ball around a lot quicker. Only issue is that he doesn't offer much defensively but I was pleased to see him harry and chase back against Spurs. Same team against Liverpool, Di Maria on the bench to offer us something different if it isn't working.
This will be close I reckon. Mata wasn’t really great on Sunday, he did good job combining with Herrera, had a lot of nice touches and put a shift defensively but I don’t think he was a direct danger. I could say the same about Young.
Liverpool will be all over us, their pressing is much more aggressive so I went for Young + Di Maria because they look more threatening on the counter, and they are better at tracking back. But to be honest, I won’t complain about any setup because there are reasons to play each one of them. Playing Mata would be a good message to Di Maria too.
Liverpool will be all over us, their pressing is much more aggressive so I went for Young + Di Maria because they look more threatening on the counter, and they are better at tracking back. But to be honest, I won’t complain about any setup because there are reasons to play each one of them. Playing Mata would be a good message to Di Maria too.
Earlier we were playing 3 strikers with one of them in the midfield. Now we are playing Rooney in his proper position. RVP, Falcao out, Mata, Herrera in. Its clear why we looked good. Lets not mess around with this formation too much. Give it time to develop.
I feel like he'll go back to Rooney in midfield and RVP up front as soon as he's fit.
It'll be madness if he does.
Nicked this off another forum. Thought it was quite good
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