Mata Frustrated With United’s Loss Of Concentration

Manchester United forward Juan Mata has spoken of his disappointment following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea, bemoaning the lapse in focus that followed his opening goal on 49 minutes.

Louis van Gaal’s men appeared to be firmly in the driving seat when Mata struck shortly after the break but the Welsh side regrouped and changed their tactics accordingly, catching the Reds off guard.

“We conceded two quick goals and then we couldn’t score more, so it is a big disappointment,” Mata told Sky Sports and MUTV. “I think they changed the shape [following the goal] and we didn’t read it quickly enough. They then created two quick plays and scored two good goals. We are disappointed because we wanted to learn a lesson from last season where we did the same - score first and then lose the game.”

Although evidently dissatisfied with how things concluded at the Liberty Stadium, Juan was pleased to get on the scoresheet – his 50th goal in English football no less – and stated his belief that the Reds can recover from the setback.

“It was a fantastic cross by Luke [Shaw], I think Wazza tried to head it, but I was where I had to be on the second post, putting the ball in the net,” Mata said. “At that moment, it was an important goal but now it was not so important because we lost the three points.

“Obviously it is a bad taste now and we would have liked a perfect end to this good run of results, which would have been a win," he continued. "We now have to rest and think about today whilst we’re away [on international duty] and know that we need to learn our lesson again.”