[MyOnlySolskjaer]

His movement is so good.

 

[stevoc]

He played well enough yesterday, but he basically just played centrally which is fine i think thats his best position. But this is the problem with Mata he was supposed to be playing on the right wing, it hindered Youngs ability to get forward and Fred had to pick a lot of his defensive duties.

If we're playing 4231 great he'd be my first choice to play behind the striker but if it's 433 then for me it has to be someone else playing wide right.

 

[Bola]

He played well enough yesterday, but he basically just played centrally which is fine i think thats his best position. But this is the problem with Mata he was supposed to be playing on the right wing, it hindered Youngs ability to get forward and Fred had to pick a lot of his defensive duties.

If we're playing 4231 great he'd be my first choice to play behind the striker but if it's 433 then for me it has to be someone else playing wide right.

My heart sink when I saw the team sheet as it looked like Mata had been assigned the attacking right role, a function he cannot fill.

As you say though, he did play in the centre for most of the game and was also very good again. I agree that I don't like the way this disjoints the side. Jose needs to learn that Mata is fantastic in the middle and closer to awful on the right, then pick his team accordingly.

Very happy with Mata at the moment :-)

 

[Denis79]

The man has such football intelligence. Imagine if he had pace.... He always opens himself up for a pass, runs in channels, has good vision with the ball. He really is a proper player just lacks physicality and pace.

 

[Canagel]

He was very good but we don't
have a right wing when he plays or is supposed to play in that position. Mata needs to be central always.

 

[stevoc]

My heart sink when I saw the team sheet as it looked like Mata had been assigned the attacking right role, a function he cannot fill.

As you say though, he did play in the centre for most of the game and was also very good again. I agree that I don't like the way this disjoints the side. Jose needs to learn that Mata is fantastic in the middle and closer to awful on the right, then pick his team accordingly.

Very happy with Mata at the moment :-)

Yeah if Mourinho wants to play 433 and assigns someone to play wide right then it can't be Mata. It makes the whole team lopsided and forces us to push everything down the left making it easier for the opposition to defend. Yesterday we were fortunate that Walcott didn't get back too much to help Coleman out.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

He was very good but we don't
have a right wing when he plays or is supposed to play in that position. Mata needs to be central always.

Yes. And since Everton was so abysmal going forward, we could afford to play with Mata. Hopefully Mourinho starts using Juan against the right teams, and not against teams that can hold onto the ball for a period of time.

 

[Ekeke]

He was much better than against Juventus, a couple of good passes in for attackers.

 

[André Dominguez]

In that Valencia team he was by far the one of the team's MVP. But that was 13 years ago.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He played well enough yesterday, but he basically just played centrally which is fine i think thats his best position. But this is the problem with Mata he was supposed to be playing on the right wing, it hindered Youngs ability to get forward and Fred had to pick a lot of his defensive duties.

If we're playing 4231 great he'd be my first choice to play behind the striker but if it's 433 then for me it has to be someone else playing wide right.

To be fair though, it was obviously our tactic for him to play in the middle yesterday. We basically played it so Mata could be an AM (or really just go wherever he wanted too) when we had the ball, and when we didn't either he would go back to help Young out (if he could) and if he couldn't, then Rashford or Fred would get back there instead.

It worked pretty well I thought overall. Especially as Rashford kept running into the right-hand channel anyway, and Young was getting forward a lot to give us a presence on that right hand side.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

To be fair though, it was obviously our tactic for him to play in the middle yesterday. We basically played it so Mata could be an AM (or really just go wherever he wanted too) when we had the ball, and when we didn't either he would go back to help Young out (if he could) and if he couldn't, then Rashford or Fred would get back there instead.

It worked pretty well I thought overall. Especially as Rashford kept running into the right-hand channel anyway, and Young was getting forward a lot to give us a presence on that right hand side.

Might not work against teams that are better at passing and going forward.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Might not work against teams that are better at passing and going forward.

Of course, but then i'd be very surprised if this is a tactic we repeat against City in two weeks for example.

But against Everton at home? Why not.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Of course, but then i'd be very surprised if this is a tactic we repeat against City in two weeks for example.

But against Everton at home? Why not.

Mourinho should alternate between Mata and Lingard on the right side(Mata drifting central) dependent on the opposition. Mata against teams that struggles to pass the ball and sitting low. Lingard against the rest.

 

[breakout67]

A solid performance. There were moments where he could have made a pass to Rashford who made some good runs but instead he slowed down and passed sideways.

Bear in mind that he probably does this due to his experience, he knows this squad very well and makes forward passes to Lukaku and Martial quite often, whereas Rashford tends to fluff his 1v1s so I can understand it.

A valuable player for us, can pick apart teams that are less physical and a good option off the bench to change the game.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Other than finishing the free header from Anthony's cross, he wasn't particularly visible. He's still one of our few attackers with the intelligence to get into scoring areas though.

 

[Flanders Devil]

If we're playing 4231 great he'd be my first choice to play behind the striker but if it's 433 then for me it has to be someone else playing wide right.

This 100% for me...

Mourinho should alternate between Mata and Lingard on the right side(Mata drifting central) dependent on the opposition. Mata against teams that struggles to pass the ball and sitting low. Lingard against the rest.

And sort of this....with the caveat that against teams that sit back we should be playing 4231; whilst other teams where we want to counter 433 (with Jesse on the right)

 

[stevoc]

To be fair though, it was obviously our tactic for him to play in the middle yesterday. We basically played it so Mata could be an AM (or really just go wherever he wanted too) when we had the ball, and when we didn't either he would go back to help Young out (if he could) and if he couldn't, then Rashford or Fred would get back there instead.

It worked pretty well I thought overall. Especially as Rashford kept running into the right-hand channel anyway, and Young was getting forward a lot to give us a presence on that right hand side.

Obviously Mourinho is ok with him roaming around everywhere but the right wing. But that doesn't change the fact it makes our attack lopsided and for the most part doesn't work against a lot of teams. We pushed everything down the left yesterday as we always do when Mata plays. If Everton had someone else on the right yesterday instead of Walcott who would have tracked back then i'm not confident we would have won. We are too easy to defend against when we basically only attack down one side of the pitch, we can't stretch teams.

The fact that Mourinho is ok with it points towards why we're struggling so much in general, often look disjointed and in my opinion punching way below our weight.

 

[KennyBurner]

He played well enough yesterday, but he basically just played centrally which is fine i think thats his best position. But this is the problem with Mata he was supposed to be playing on the right wing, it hindered Youngs ability to get forward and Fred had to pick a lot of his defensive duties.

If we're playing 4231 great he'd be my first choice to play behind the striker but if it's 433 then for me it has to be someone else playing wide right.

I love the part you said about Fred which is what makes him so important. There were multiple times during the game when Ashley young had the ball and was going to boot it forward but was able to pass to Fred because he MADE himself available on the wing. I love his energy and composure.

Mata and pogba are now free to do their thing without constantly leaving a huge hole when out of position. I just need mourinho to keep this lineup moving forward with maybe trying sanchez in for rashford/lukaku.

 

[stevoc]

I love the part you said about Fred which is what makes him so important. There were multiple times during the game when Ashley young had the ball and was going to boot it forward but was able to pass to Fred because he MADE himself available on the wing. I love his energy and composure.

Mata and pogba are now free to do their thing without constantly leaving a huge hole when out of position. I just need mourinho to keep this lineup moving forward with maybe trying sanchez in for rashford/lukaku.

I've liked what i've seen of Fred so far. But i'm still not convinced we need 3 in midfield at home vs most teams. I'd play 4231 with Mata centrally in most games and against better opposition swap Mata for a 3rd CM and push Pogba forward.

I wouldn't be averse to a midfield two of Pogba and Fred/Herrera and take Matic out for a while and let him rest. Like Lukaku i think he's been playing too much.

 

[Negan]

All of our good moves yesterday came through him.

It amazes me that people still want to see him dropped or sold when he is basically the only player in our squad that unlocks that “attacking style” everyone’s been crying out for.

 

[Raw]

All of our good moves yesterday came through him.

It amazes me that people still want to see him dropped or sold when he is basically the only player in our squad that unlocks that “attacking style” everyone’s been crying out for.

Agreed. He seems like he'd be the type of player that'll keep performing well until his mid 30s, just as long as he stays in a central position. I think a more attacking manager would love to have him in the team.

 

[Jev]

Throughout Mata's United career, we have generally been playing better when he's been on the pitch than when he's not. Therefore, he's played way too few games for us.

 

[stevoc]

Agreed. He seems like he'd be the type of player that'll keep performing well until his mid 30s, just as long as he stays in a central position. I think a more attacking manager would love to have him in the team.

Yeah with Martial in his current form if we also had a top winger on the right we could be a really good side to watch. It's sad that Mata has been here going on 5 years and never got a proper run in the middle with runners around him.

 

[Roboc7]

Two little moments put Pogba and Rashford one on one with the keeper. Better touches and he comes away with two assists and United are 4 up. I’d call that impact.

When the game opened up he did play two good passes but not much before that and as ever he always shows moments of class but he also doesn’t contribute enough.

The team would be much better if there was some balance and attacking threat on the right wing, if Mata plays there he vacates it and plays centrally and I don’t think he offers enough to compensate for that.

 

[Devil may care]

Quiet game today, we didn't really get much control of the game until he came off, not that it was his fault but in a game where we aren't seeing much of the ball his effectiveness is limited.

 

[stevoc]

Poor today but with playing on the right wing we should expect that. No idea why he's starts out wide in away matches like this, not great defensively and not going to give us much of an outlet or pace on the counter.

 

[kiristao]

We should either play him behind the striker or not play him at all. If keeps drifting inside and leaves the right side exposed, which was ok when Valencia was playing RB but Young isn't as good defensive and it leaves us highly exposed down the roght aide

 

[Zoo]

Happy to keep him as a squad player but we need to upgrade on him.

 

[Sylar]

Cant play him if we go with a 3 man midfield (unless hes top of that three, behind the striker).

 

[Devil77]

What a freekick! Once again Mata proves his value. So happy for him.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Great free kick taker.

 

[Kag]

Can’t be just me that knew that was hitting the net?

He’s phenomenal from that range.

 

[acnumber9]

He’s almost a guaranteed goal from that range. Best free kick taker we’ve had since Beckham.

 

[Chicharo]

Must play more often. It's not just about his set pieces only

 

[Amar__]

What a guy, he makes those look ridiculously easy, even though it was difficult as feck since both Ronaldo and Pjanic jumped so high.

 

[ZlatMan]

Find me somebody who hate Juan Mata and I will show you Santa Claus!

 

[kundalini]

Nice free-kick. Right distance for him.

 

[Raw]

I love him. I absolutely love him.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Can’t be just me that knew that was hitting the net?

He’s phenomenal from that range.

It's the place that most players find the hardest to score from too... just outside the area.

Just excellent technique.

 

[Van Piorsing]

He survived three weird United managers, deserving some credit for that alone.