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Manchester United's Record With And Without Juan Mata This Season Is Incredible

Manchester United's Record With And Without Juan Mata This Season Is Incredible

Stats emerge after United's defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League.

Macaulay Fletcher

Macaulay Fletcher

Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League by Sevilla last night, thanks to super-sub Ben Yedder. The striker was subsisted on in the 72nd minute and made an instant impact, scoring two goals within six minutes of entering the pitch.

Even before the game started, a lot of Manchester United supporters were questioning Jose Mourinho's starting XI and even more questions were asked following the full-time result.

Sevilla. Image: PA
Sevilla. Image: PA

One player mentioned was Juan Mata. The Spaniard enjoyed an excellent performance in the game against Liverpool at the weekend but despite that, was dropped to the subs bench for the game against Sevilla. And since then, some remarkable statistics have surfaced surrounding the midfielder.

Spanish journalist Eduardo Fbez-Abascal has been doing some research on Manchester United with and without Juan Mata in the starting line up. The club have played 45 games this season, of which Mata has started 28, and judging by the evidence, it proves just how important the former Chelsea man is to Mourinho's side.

With Juan Mata in the Manchester United XI:

28 games, 23 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. Win percentage of 82.1% and a loss percentage of 3.6%.

Without Juan Mata in the Manchester United XI:

17 games, 7 wins, 2 draws, 8 defeats. Win percentage of 41.2% and a loss percentage of 47.1%.

These statistics come days after Gary Neville claimed the 29-year-old has become more important to the team and could have a huge impact on the club's remaining fixtures.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"There's signs in the last two games that there's a team there and Juan Mata's become more important to connect the team," Nevilla said on Sky Sports' podcast.

"It looks like you've got [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial, [Romelu] Lukaku but they haven't got that glue that just knits it together. Mata looks like he might become a very important player.

"Michael Carrick, [Paul] Pogba has sort of got the ability to connect back to front but Mata certainly has got the composure to hold the ball and allow those players to make their runs so they can get up the pitch and get into a point where they can play one-on-one."

Should Juan Mata have started in the game against Sevilla? Let us know in the comments below.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Juan Mata, Manchester United, Gary Neville, Sevilla