Mata's Perfect Day

Juan Mata captained Manchester United for the first time, and scored the winning goal as Watford were defeated 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Wearing the armband was a proud moment for the creative midfielder and he recalled his "perfect day" when speaking exclusively to MUTV after the final whistle.

"It was very, very important to win today," Mata explained. "It's not the prettiest game we've played this season but we needed the points, especially because our rivals didn't win their games. It was massive, this victory, for us and that's why we celebrated like we did.

"It was very good [to be captain]. I'm very proud and very honoured to wear it [the armband]. It was the perfect day for me - winning, scoring, three massive points and being captain. I'm too happy today!"

Mata took the crucial set-piece with seven minutes remaining after Memphis Depay hit the wall with an earlier effort.

"Because of the side [the right-hand part of the pitch], I had more angle than him that time and I tried to put it to the goalkeeper's side," explained Mata. "I think he [Heurelho Gomes] couldn't see the ball and, luckily, it went in.

"You can call it however you want, maybe it's an ugly win but it's a win in our race and we are still going. We will never give up. We are closer now to fourth, third and second and will try to win again on Sunday.

"The Premier League is not easy and it's never finished until the last game. We have to fight until the end, we won a massive game against Arsenal last weekend and won today again. We're on a good run while our rivals are having problems. We have to take advantage of that and I think we did really well in winning."