It was a preseason friendly, but we don’t care. It was offside, but that doesn’t matter. The Juan Mata touch vs Liverpool on Saturday in Michigan was absolutely sublime.
England’s two most successful clubs faced off in front of more than 105,000 fans at the Big House on Saturday. While Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp fielded a starting 11 close to his first choice, Jose Mourinho opted for a few more reserves. Where exactly Mata falls on that spectrum is debatable, but his ability is not.
About 20 minutes into the first half of the match, the diminutive Spaniard was sent through on goal. The skill Mata showed to bring the ball down and fire a shot in the same movement was absolutely stunning.
Good chance created Mata offside. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/h7SaHbnisO
— (@JA_KingDaViD) July 28, 2018
The Juan Mata touch vs Liverpool deserved to be a goal. It’s a preseason friendly, so the assistant referee should’ve just kept his flag down to give the move full justice.
Unfortunately, for some reason, ESPN refused to show replays of the serene touch, so we're left without a close-up view. You can check out another replay here.
Mata’s control was so sweet, it recalled Marcelo's trap in the Champions League last season.
That touch from Mata pic.twitter.com/ijJk4CLAmV
— Vïctor (@ViiciousVictor) July 28, 2018
Hopefully we see more plays like that from Mata throughout the season. He appears to be in top form heading into the season. Here he is with another stunning touch to set up a goal by Alexis Sanchez against AC Milan in the Red Devils’ first International Champions Cup match on Wednesday.
Alexis Sanchez goal against AC Milan. That pass from Juan Mata #mufc pic.twitter.com/ihw7D8K18Q
— Man Utd Updates (@utds_updates) July 26, 2018
He may only be the size of an ewok, but Mata is a treasure.
Aside from the Juan Mata touch vs Liverpool, there were two goals in the first half. Sadio Mané converted a penalty kick for Liverpool and Andreas Pereira smashed a free kick past Kamil Grabara, one that might’ve been the best goal of the ICC were it not for these two beauties earlier in the day.
Superb free-kick goal from #mufc Andreas Pereira, 1-1 #United vs. Livpool pic.twitter.com/iYSnCpYZxZ
— Boris Eftimovski (@BorisUnited) July 28, 2018
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