Football
Arindam Rej, Man United Correspondent 8y

Juan Mata: Manchester United are better at set pieces this season

Juan Mata has admitted Manchester United lacked aerial threat last season but have rectified the problem with their summer signings.

Paul Pogba found the back of the net for United for the first time in the 4-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday -- one of three Red Devils goals coming from corners.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, has already been a handful in the air for teams this season and has scored two headers for United since arriving in the summer.

"We have always worked on corners," Mata told MUTV. "As a team, we try to get the ball into the box for someone to put it in the back of the net. We tried it a few times last season but it didn't work. Now we know we have strong people, tall people, to head the ball in."

Mata scored the only United goal that did not come from a corner against Leicester as he finished off a well-worked move with a fine strike.

It rewarded an influential display by the Spaniard in the No. 10 role as he was recalled to the side, having been dropped to the bench for the league defeats against Manchester City and Watford.

"I think we needed something like this," Mata said of the Leicester result. "There has been a lot of talk about the team in recent weeks but we scored four different goals and showed what we could do.

"Once you score the first one and the second one, you gain confidence and it's great for the fans because it's been a while since they have had something to celebrate like this."

Discussing his strike, Mata added: "It was a nice goal but the most important thing was that it came at an important moment in the game [making the score 2-0]."

^ Back to Top ^