Is Juan Mata Killing the Manchester United Attack?
Manchester United fans and pundits alike are quick to heap blame on Wayne Rooney and Memphis Depay for their problems in attack. While those two certainly deserve their share of criticism, United supporters should cast their eyes towards Spaniard Juan Mata so he can receive his share of blame too. He has played a prominent role in killing the Manchester United attack as well.
It’s not as if Mata has been awful this year for United, but he’s not been anywhere near a standout player. Whoscored.com puts his play at a tick above 7 on the season but for me, the trouble has been his lack of consistency. To that end, if you look at his list of individual fixtures he didn’t post a single game rating over 7 throughout all of October. This is hardly the work of a world-class attacker that deserves to play every week for Manchester United.
To be fair to the left-footed Spaniard, he is better suited to play as a number 10 which just isn’t going to happen for him at United. Instead, he’s been exiled to play out on the right in all but one of his appearances on the year. He provides United an interesting option because he cuts in naturally from the side with his left foot, but that’s all that interests me about Mata out wide.
The drawbacks of his play are quite obvious and very troubling. Firstly, he compounds the bothersome lack of pace for United’s attack. Martial can stretch defenders, as can Depay when he’s in form, but the presence of Rooney and Mata in the same lineup narrows the field significantly.
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Mata is not a threat to run in behind a defender so they can react to him when he’s on the ball. That allows defenders to key on the more speedy attackers while he’s not in possession. Simply put, they can react to Mata, but have to be proactive when defending Martial. Too many players like this and your attack becomes very predictable.
Perhaps Jose Mourinho was right about Mata when he ushered him out of Chelsea. His trouble with his former star was his lack of pace and defensive work rate. These are the same issues that have reared their ugly head for him at Old Trafford. He can be terrific on the ball and when utilized as the creator with attacking weapons around him, he can be devastating.
Unfortunately for him, this isn’t the case in United’s current set up. The way they use Mata prevents him from maximizing his talent and United from reaping the most benefit from playing him.
Juan Mata isn’t a bad player and he’s got a role to play for Manchester United. Like Rooney though, he is limited by his lack of pace and spots on the pitch where he can be deployed. He’s doing an average job for United on the wing, and that’s all they are likely to get out of him at this point in his career. If Manchester United fans would stop shouting about Rooney and Depay every once in a while, they might notice how average Juan Mata has become.