Mata: We believe we can go through

Juan Mata believes Manchester United can overcome Club Brugge in the second leg of our Europa League Round of 32 tie at Old Trafford after picking up a 1-1 draw in Belgium.

Anthony Martial’s first-half equaliser means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men go into next Thursday’s game with a crucial away goal and Mata is confident we can progress on home soil.

“We believe we can win at home and we can go through,” he told MUTV. “We respect Brugge, they are playing very well in their league and their manager is very good.

“They play from the back, they are difficult to break down so we will try and control the game and not concede many counterattacks because they have quick players up front which they showed today. Hopefully we can score our chances and go through.”

Club Brugge started Thursday’s first leg quickly and opened the scoring through Emmanuel Dennis after just 15 minutes. However, Mata believes after Martial’s equaliser United looked the more likely to win the game:

“I think in the second half we played better. We played more in their half and had chances to maybe score the second after they had started well,” he added. “We had a chance with Brandon [Williams] and we hit the post with Anthony [Martial].

“They scored a goal we shouldn’t concede and we scored a goal from their mistake. We wanted to win but 1-1 is not a very bad result.”

Mata’s team-mate Victor Lindelof was disappointed with the manner in which United conceded, but also believes the Reds are in a strong position going into the second leg.

“It’s football, it happens, but of course we shouldn’t concede a goal like that,” he insisted. “But we got an away goal which is important in European games.

“We showed at times today the quality that we have and when we play at home we are going to try and play a better game.”