Mata Delighted At Personal Milestone

Each and every Monday during the season, Manchester United star Juan Mata pens a personal blog. In his latest entry, the Reds' attacking midfielder reflects on another four-goal haul and celebrates a personal milestone...

Hi everyone,

It’s been another great week to close a very positive month of September for the team, with one draw and six consecutive wins. This stat clearly shows the good work we are doing at the beginning of this season. The challenge now is to maintain this level for months, to try to get enough consistency to achieve big goals. The team feels confident and we are showing that on the pitch.

Last Saturday, we defeated Crystal Palace and I was able to score my first goal of the season, after several games with a few shots against the woodwork. I scored just three minutes into the game in a big play by Marcus [Rashford], who sent the ball back and I managed to put it beyond the goalkeeper’s reach at first touch.

Scoring goals has always been an important aspect of my game, although I’m not a striker, and I hope to help the team again this season with as many goals as I can. That 1-0 [lead] came pretty soon and it helped us a lot. After a long trip back from Moscow, without much time to recover, the team showed its ambition from the very first minute. The three points keep us on top of the table with City. It was my 200th game in the Premier League, I’m very proud of reaching these figures and I hope to increase them. I still need to play a few more games to catch [Gareth] Barry!

Winning in Moscow was also very important. Two victories after two weeks give us a lot of confidence. The game was more complicated than the score shows, but the team went for it at all times. It’s not easy to win in that stadium and it means a big boost for us because the next game will be in Lisbon against Benfica, a tough visit.

But that will be in two and a half weeks. Now there is an international break, after that, we will have plenty of time to think about the exciting October ahead of us.

Have a nice week.

Hugs,

Juan