Analysing Juan Mata’s industrious performance in Manchester United’s 2-0 win against Hull City

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It wasn’t a vintage Manchester United performance by any means, and it is unlikely to be a match that lingers long in the memory of any supporter, but it was a win – and that’s all that matters in knock-out football.

Jose Mourinho’s side have played better in the past few months and they will almost certainly play better before the end of the season, but Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini ensured that the gamble to put out a near full-strength side paid off against a heavily depleted Hull City outfit.

It was United’s first goal-scorer, Mata, who added yet another impressive performance in midfield to his collection for the season and pulled the strings in the attacking third as his side dominated.

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He was involved in virtually all of United’s first-half attacks, having a shot well saved by Jakupovic himself, and Hull struggled to deal with his tricky footwork; quick footwork that almost led to a goal in a glorious move down the by-line, pulling the ball back to Mkhitaryan who somehow missed the target from ten yards out.

The Spaniard’s movement was exceptional at times too, and with equally word-class players around him such as Mkhitaryan and Ander Herrera, Mata knows he can roam around anywhere in the final third and find space between the opposition midfield and defence.

It’s in this gap where he finds a lot of his joy, receiving the ball and turning on the defence who, more often than not, can’t predict what the ex-Chelsea man is going to do next.

His movement arguably earnt him his goal last night too, after he gambled on a Mkhitaryan header at the back-post to tap into an empty net – it was almost like a striker’s instinct.

This goal was his third in his last four EFL Cup appearances, and took his overall United tally to 33 in 129 – reaching this mark in six less games than it took him for Chelsea.

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At Old Trafford last night, the 28-year-old had 77 touches of the ball in opposition territory, making 64 passes with an 86% accuracy. His ability to do both the sublime and the simple, to pull off a seemingly impossible pass or just a simple ten metre pass, makes him a huge asset to Mourinho and he showcased this again last night, creating three key chances before making way for Fellaini late on.

Yet it still seems like Mata is overshadowed at Old Trafford; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Mkhitaryan are all heavily experienced from foreign leagues, and have won numerous titles, whilst Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are heavily spoken about due to their youth and raw talent.

As a result, it seems that Mata (alongside fellow Spaniard Ander Herrera) go under the radar a little, as they are more industrious than spectacular; at the start of this season, people were wondering whether he would have a place in this Manchester United side at all with the calibre of the incoming signings, but that claim now seems absurd after his performances to date.

Five months since the season began, it seems like Mata has made himself a hugely influential and pivotal cog in the Manchester United wheel, and it would be fair to suggest that he is a dead-cert to start at the weekend against Liverpool – a team who know all too well how good Mata is.

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