Michael Carrick believes Juan Mata is a triumph of brain over brawn as he hailed the Spaniard for a "sensational" goal to earn Manchester United victory at Liverpool.
Mata scored twice, including a brilliant volleyed second, as Louis van Gaal's team beat their rivals for a top-four finish 2-1 on Sunday.
And vice-captain Carrick believes Mata has a wonderful footballing brain and remarkable quality to compensate for his lack of physical power.
The England international said: "He has always been a great player. I think he has always been important to us because he brings so much to the team, and so much ability. You have seen it all there, in terms of what he brings to us and I thought he was terrific.
"I thought his overall play was good and he obviously scored both goals. I thought the first one was a really good finish and the second one was sensational, so he has had a good day.
"He is just so clever. He moves the ball, takes up good positions, he is dangerous and he is just so intelligent. He has such a slight frame so he is not going to have a physical presence but he more than makes up for that with his general ability and how he plays the game. He is just a joy to watch.
"You can't look past his quality; that is why he is here and he is here for a reason. He is such a good player and performances like that don't surprise me because performances like that are exactly what he is all about."
Mata was United's record signing when he joined from Chelsea for 37.1 million pounds in January 2014 but had only featured for 23 minutes in the seven matches before he returned to the team against Tottenham last week.
Sunday was the first time Mata had started successive Premier League matches in over two months. There is little wonder, therefore, that he regards the win at Anfield as among the best of his career.
"This Sunday has been one of the happiest days of my career," Mata wrote on his weekly blog. "When you start playing football as a kid on muddy pitches, for something so simple and wonderful as having fun, you dream about becoming a footballer one day to be in a game like the one in Anfield.
"Manchester United and Liverpool have one of the biggest sports rivalries, and this is the biggest game in English football. Besides, the game was also important because both teams were close on the table, fighting for a place in the Champions League next season.
"It has been an unforgettable day for me."
United also beat Liverpool with Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria only appearing as substitutes, while the injured Robin van Persie missed the game altogether.
"It tells you about the squad and the strength in depth," Carrick added. "What more can you say? Those boys are all top players but I think we have got a number of players that the manager can choose from, which is great. Sometimes different games throw up different scenarios and different systems maybe, but the last two games have gone very well for us."
United are now five points clear of the Reds with just eight matches to go. But Mata is aware United still have to play Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal before the end of the season, so he is not getting too carried away.
"Beating Liverpool at Anfield, being lucky to score two nice goals and feeling [the fans'] gratitude is something I will never forget," Mata wrote. "But we must be cautious: these are just three points in the race to our goal."
Carrick is guarding against complacency as he argued the race for the Champions League places is not over.
"I don't think it changes a lot," he said. "We are still focusing on the next game, exactly as we would have."
Information from Press Association was used in this report.