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| Magic Mata: The Spaniard scored his first of the season against Swansea City
Ever since signing for David Moyes's United back in 2013/14 in the January from Jose Mourinho for an estimated £37.1 million, Mata never really looked like he was absolutely on top of his game, as he was during his Stamford Bridge days. Under Moyes Mata was played out on the left and out on the right and hardly got a sniff to play in his favoured number ten role. Playing with a struggling team was hard on the Spaniard, who's abilities were thought to be stifled, playing the way Moyes wanted him to.
At the end of a dismal 2013/14 season, United finished 7th in the league table, with Mata ending the season with a mere 6 goals and 4 assists to his name, hardly the type of form that had earned him consecutive player of the season awards at Chelsea, to be fair to the Spaniard though, having arrived in January, he displayed an impressive goal return in his first few months with the club.
Under Louis Van Gaal though, it has certainly been a different story for the midfield Maestro. The Dutchman has seemingly now turned Juan Mata into a right winger, with the tendency to cut inside onto his wand of a left foot. This transformation of position has certainly paid dividends for the Red devils.
"I think Juan Mata is always one of my better players" Van Gaal told press towards the end of last season. "Now he is playing as a false right winger and the combination with Herrera and Valencia gives him more opportunities" Juan Mata's form in the 2014/15 was very much highlighted during their tough six game run, which would end up shaping the top 4. United had to face the likes of Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea all in quick succession. Juan Mata certainly stood up to the test and was certainly counted.
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| Derby Delight: Juan Mata won the game vs Liverpool in spectacular fashion
Mata went onto score in both the derby games against rivals City and Liverpool, including a tremendous scissor kick at Anfield to seal the win over the scousers. Some impressive stats were to follow from the game on Merseyside as well, it was revealed that Juan Mata actually covered more ground per minute than any of his team mates in these games. A statistic such as this might make Jose Mourinho go a bit red in the face, as his main issue with Juan Mata at Chelsea was largely that he didn't run as much as he needed him to. Oops.
The Spaniard also formed a very fluent combination with fellow Hispanics Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera on the right side. They proved to give many teams a problem, most notably Liverpool. Going back to the matter of statistics, it was revealed that last season Mata was very efficient in providing opportunities for his team mates when going forward. In the final third, Mata found a team mate with 82.2% of his passes, better than the rest of the United side.
Juan Mata went onto end the season as United's joint second top scorer, with 10 goals, alongside now ex-red Robin Van Persie and just behind captain Wayne Rooney who scored 14 goals.
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| 'A Barca style of play': United played 44 passes in succession for Mata's goal against Southampton
With the new season upon us like the shining sun, Juan Mata has also shone brightly so far. Scoring against Swansea, Southampton and Sunderland and assisting 3 more. His style of play has been identified as roaming in between the lines between the opposition defence and midfield. Coming in from the right wing onto his left foot has proved effective and he has provided an excellent outlet for his team mates. His ability to switch play quickly, put chances on a plate, as he did for Memphis against Sunderland and overall vision, makes him a very dangerous midfielder going forward, he's certainly been one of the form men in the league so far.
Perhaps Mata's most impressive goal this season came at Southampton. In this goal, Louis Van Gaal's philosophy was demonstrated perfectly. Possession with purpose. The red devils played a 44 pass consecutive piece of play which resulted with Juan putting the ball in the back of the net himself. In an interview with the independent, Mata talked of his joy of finishing the move. "It wasn't just possession for possessions sake, it was a great example of how to manage the situation when you are winning away"
Manchester United have a tough 3 match league run now, which see's them travel to the Emirates and Goodison park for what are sure to be tough away games against Arsenal and Everton. Following this, Juan Mata and co. will host Manchester City at Old Trafford. Can Mata continue his excellent form and be the difference? United fans alike will certainly hope so.
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