Juan Mata looks to have been a class buy (Picture: Getty)

Seldom do you see a genius arrive at your football club – someone who can make things happen on his own and is capable of thinking two or three moves ahead of everybody else on the pitch.

However, Manchester United supporters have been lucky enough over recent years to see several players of this nature. January signing Juan Mata is the latest in a line of geniuses to pull on the red shirt, and his performances so far show exactly what United can expect.

David Moyes bemoaned a lack of creativity from midfield prior to the new year and the addition of Mata was an opportunistic effort, not only to boost the level of creativity within the team, but also the overall quality of the squad. Mata’s top level prowess had already been proven at Chelsea and with the Spanish national team.



The impact was immediate with morale around Old Trafford lifted courtesy of Mata’s arrival, and the victory over Cardiff City on his debut was an impressive start. Mata looked comfortable on the ball, something which had gone amiss at Old Trafford throughout the first half of the season. The Spaniard was dictating the movement of the ball from all areas of the midfield and looking to link up with Robin van Persie at every opportunity.


Let it be noted that this performance came whilst Wayne Rooney looked on from the substitutes’ bench.

In the two matches since then, United have succumbed to a defeat to Stoke and a draw at home to Fulham, yet still the genius of Mata has shined through. Like Mesut Ozil at Arsenal, supporters will tell you how good his play off the ball has been and how his thinking has created chances for others, it is the same with Juan Mata and this was evident against Stoke.

In difficult conditions against an overly physical team, United tried to break the hosts down with aerial passes, this was never going to work yet only Mata could see this and he tried to take United’s play in another direction.

The same occurred against Fulham with United persisting with a crossing game against a tall defensive line whilst Mata stood more often than not unmarked on the edge of the penalty area.

United have to start playing through Mata, allowing him to kick-start attacking moves and play through the middle just behind van Persie, if that means accommodating Wayne Rooney to a wide area, or deeper in the midfield, then so be it.

As soon as you give a player as good as Mata creative freedom, you begin to play better football and can out pass teams who keep plenty of men behind the ball.

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