Manchester United has closed the gap on the top four to just two points courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win…
Browsing: Juan Mata
It wasn’t until midway through the half that United finally threatened a breakthrough when a lofted ball into the box was only cleared as far as Juan Mata, who volleyed his effort narrowly over from the edge of the box
Rooney netted his 249th goal for the club to set United on their way to the fourth round, with further strikes from Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford wrapping up an eighth straight victory for the Red Devils
United won the match at West Ham
Sofiane Feghouli was controversially sent from the field in the 15th minute and Man United ultimately made their one-man advantage count
On Sunday afternoon against Chelsea, United fell behind after just 30 seconds and there was almost a similar occurrence on Wednesday night as City wasted a glorious chance in just the second minute
Juan Mata had earlier cancelled out Jason Puncheon’s opener at Wembley before the dramatic finale saw the Red Devils pick up their first major trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club
It seemed for a long while that if either side was going to win the game, it would be Quique Sanchez Flores’s away side, but they were ultimately punished for their failure to convert numerous chances as United went on to benefit from the points that were dropped by those above them in the table
United came into the match knowing that a win would take them to the top of the table above neighbours Manchester City, who lost 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur earlier on Saturday
Adnan Januzaj, recalled by Louis van Gaal after struggling to secure first-team action last term, scored the only goal for the Red Devils, who move to the top of the table for the time being at least
Both sides were on the attack early on, but a weak shot from Ryan Mason left David de Gea with a comfortable save, while Juan Mata failed to test Hugo Lloris with a curling effort
But Van Gaal will still be happy that his makeshift team returned to winning ways with a result that moves them up to fifth in the Barclays Premier League
The players have reacted well to Van Gaal’s training techniques and the 3-4-1-2 system he has used successfully against the Galaxy, Roma, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now Liverpool
The win moves Stoke out of the relegation zone and into mid-table
The defeat left Cardiff rooted to the bottom
With Juan Mata able to play wide as well as through the middle, Shaw’s speed and desire to attack would allow him to link up with the Spaniard and pose a problem for opponents that is absent owing to the manager’s chopping and changing over who should play on the wing
The background to the Mata deal is a case study about how complicated and sensitive these big-money arrangements can be, and an insight into the high influence of agents in the modern business
The England striker has been trusted with transfer-market information and kept in the loop about possible signings in a move that acknowledges his importance to the club and a recognition, at the highest level within Old Trafford, that a player of Rooney’s stature deserves to know whether a team who have been struggling all season have the financial muscle and ambition to put it right
The Arsenal manager expressed his surprise that Chelsea should do business with a Premier League rival, albeit one that is flagging this season, and he warned his Stamford Bridge counterpart, José Mourinho, that he could live to regret the decision in the longer term
Even in a ridiculously bad shoot-out, De Gea’s save from Adam Johnson meant Sunderland had only scored twice