Carrick: Juan Mata Is A Joy To Watch

Michael Carrick has paid tribute to his midfield team-mate Juan Mata and explained why it is a “joy to watch” the technically-gifted Spaniard in action for Manchester United.

Mata opened the scoring in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Liverpool with a neat right-footed finish past Simon Mignolet before doubling his tally with an audacious volley on 59 minutes. That brace helped him secure the club’s Man of the Match award with 90 per cent of votes cast by Reds supporters.

The diminutive playmaker has now scored 14 goals in 42 appearances since joining United from Chelsea in January 2014, which gives him an impressive strike rate of 0.33 goals per game. According to Carrick, statistics like that simply underline the quality and ability that Mata brings to the team.

“He has always been a great player,” Michael explains. “He has always been important to us because he brings so much to the team, and so much ability. You have seen it all there, in terms of what he brings.

"I thought he was terrific. His overall play was good and he obviously scored both goals. The first one was a really good finish and the second was sensational, so he had a good day.

“He is just so clever. He moves the ball, takes up good positions, he is dangerous and he is just so intelligent. He has such a slight frame so he is not going to have a physical presence but he more than makes up for that with his general ability and how he plays the game. He is just a joy to watch.”

Mata was named on the bench for seven consecutive matches before starting the recent 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the absence of the suspended Angel Di Maria. Having impressed that day, the Spaniard retained his place at Anfield and stole the show with an excellent brace.

“Listen, all players have ups and downs throughout their careers and you can’t look at any player and say any different,” says Carrick, referring to Mata’s recent absence. “You can’t look past his quality; that is why he is here and he is here for a reason. He is such a good player and performances like that don’t surprise me as that is exactly what he is all about.”

United started Sunday’s match at Anfield with Radamel Falcao and Di Maria both on the bench, and also with the injured Robin van Persie watching from afar. When asked what that says about the quality of Louis van Gaal’s squad, Carrick is quick to explain how competition for places is fierce.

“It tells you about the squad and our strength-in depth,” he says. “What more can you say? Those boys you mentioned are all top players but I think we have got a number of players that the manager can choose from, which is great. Sometimes different games throw up different scenarios and need different systems maybe, but the last two games have gone very well for us.

“We are still focusing on the next game, exactly as we would have. We see in training when we have games that both teams are pretty equal, when we have 11 versus 11, because that is the strength of our squad now.

"A lot of players have had game time this year and that does bring options. That is what you get at big clubs. It is something that I have always had and it just keeps you on your toes.”