In the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford, fans were scheduled to leave the stadium early in the 73rd minute, expressing dissatisfaction with the 17 years that the owner's Glazer family ran the club. But in the end many stayed in the stands, at a time when a substitution was underway on the sidelines, with 34-year-old veteran Juan Mata completing what could be his final game at Old Trafford, with Red Devils fans greeting him with enthusiastic applause.
Mata started the game and is the starting 11-man squad to enter the Premier League for the first time this season. In fact, in the 2020 and 2021 leagues, the Spanish veteran has only made one start at the Theatre of Dreams, against West Brom and Leicester City respectively. The Battle of Brentford is the third and final appearance of the year.
Star Roy Keane criticised Lonnick and Manchester United for going into farewell mode, but Mata showed with practical actions that he was not here to play the exhibition game. The data shows that United passed more than 400 passes in the first half, the first time of the season, and 371 of the 408 passes were successful, with a completion rate of 91%.
Among them, Mata is indispensable, he tried 39 passes in the time on the field, successfully 36 times, and the accuracy rate reached 92%. Among them, the Manchester United veteran sent the ball to the attacking third zone 17 times, 16 successful times, and only lost the ball on 4 occasions.
If it wasn't for bad luck, Mata should have finished his farewell performance at the Theatre of Dreams with a goal or assist. In the first half, the 34-year-old Spanish warm man ran to the left side of the gap and assisted Ronaldo's goal with a cross. Unfortunately, the Portuguese superstar was offside by a foot's length, the goal was cancelled and Mata missed an assist.
On the other occasion, Mata and Ronaldo made consecutive passes, and went into the box to receive the latter's heel pass, and a powerful shot was deflected off the goalpost. Although Lady Luck did not favor Mata, the Dream Theatre fans saw his performance, and in the best player selection on The Manchester United official website after the game, Mata received 22% of the vote, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United's die-hard fans in the West Stand also chanted Mata's name, while C Ronaldo hugged Mata's other dying veteran, Nemanja Matic, and the two worked best with the president in the recent game.
Manchester United interim manager Ronnick also believes that the appearance of Mata and Nemanja Matic has improved the control of the team. "I think the partnership of Mata and Nemanja Matic has improved the strength of the midfield, plus Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Bruno (Fernandez) have also helped to control the ball. It's not easy for the opponent to snatch the ball from our feet, although in the first half we still had too many back passes and crosses in the area where the opponent was pressing, but overall, the possession was very good in this game." "For Juan and Nemania, both fantastic players with fantastic careers, they had a few wonderful years at Manchester United," Lonnick said. Maybe it's their last home game and we'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks, but if it's a farewell game at home, then it's also a special night."
United had hoped to keep Juan Juan Mata and retire as the team's coach, coaching the team's young players. However, Mata declined the invitation to hang up his boots and wanted to continue playing. His performance in this game is enough to explain the reason why he does not want to retire, because in his form, he can play the residual heat in La Liga or Serie A. Even if United had used Juan Des Deux Mata more this season instead of sticking to the sluggish Rashford or Sancho, the record might have improved significantly.
Outside Old Trafford after the game, Mata braved the rain for the last time to sign a group photo for the waiting fans and say goodbye. Hopefully, the rest of United's players will learn from this Spanish veteran who works the pitch and keeps a low profile on the sidelines.