Mata Reflects On A Memorable Week

Juan Mata is pleased to have played his part in helping Manchester United achieve the “first objective of the season” in qualifying for the Champions League group stage - and delighted to have been recalled to the Spain squad.

Mata was one of the Reds’ star performers in the 4-0 victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday night, a result which sealed a 7-1 aggregate win in the European qualifier. The Spaniard praised his team-mates' desire and quality to get the job done in Belgium and says he hopes the Reds can carry that into the next away test, against Swansea City on Sunday in the Barclays Premier League.

“We are very happy because we reached our first objective of the season - we knew we had to play Champions League football,” Mata told ManUtd.com. “We did what we had to do, we won the game, we played great football and scored very good goals, especially in the second half, so we are very happy.

Following progression to the group stage, the Reds will now face PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg and Mata believes the United fans will play a big part in helping the team navigate the challenges in Group B.

"The fans who travelled to Belgium were amazing. We won for them and we know how many supporters will travel for us in the away games in the Champions League so we’ll try to do it for them again.

“It’s the best competition to play in and I’ve been lucky enough to win it once and it’s amazing. Last season it was difficult to watch the games; now we have the chance to enjoy it.

"But while we are happy about that, it's now time to think about the next game on Sunday. From now on we want to win every game in the Premier League."

The week ended on another high for Mata when he was recalled to the Spanish squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers with Slovakia and Macedonia, and he's delighted to be back.

"I am very happy. It’s amazing to play for your country. I have done it many times but it’s been a while since the last time so I am very happy and proud," he beamed.

"We have important games for the European Championships. We have Slovakia, the team leading the group, and Macedonia so it will be tough, but we are looking forward to it."