Rio Ferdinand and Cesc Fabregas question Manchester United's ‘incredible’ Juan Mata, Fred free-kick decision

Mata was denied an opportunity to take a late free-kick vs Man City
Action Images via Reuters
Tom Doyle30 January 2020

When a big game rests on a knife-edge, it takes a certain type of player to thrive under the pressure.

Juan Mata has been in and out of the Manchester United team over the past year or so, but has hit form of late to earn more game time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

With United 1-0 up away to Manchester City in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, the Red Devils' hopes of scoring again to level the tie at 3-3 took a hit when goalscorer Nemanja Matic was shown a second yellow card.

Matic departed in the 76th minute, and Solskjaer gambled by sending on Mata with 11 minutes remaining. The Spaniard is not especially well known for either his defensive work or speed, so Mata's introduction was presumably based on his technical ability and composure in the final third.

A golden opportunity presented itself when Nicolas Otamendi conceded a foul outside City's penalty area with three minutes left on the clock. Mata - who scored a fine late free-kick at Juventus in the Champions League group stages last season - seemed the natural man to step up, especially with the ball well-positioned for a left-footed set-piece specialist.

Getty Images

However, Mata was waved away from the set-piece by Fred and Andreas Pereira - and the former duly sent his effort into the wall. United went on to win 1-0 on the night, but exited the competition 3-2 on aggregate - and that late chance did not go unnoticed by two Premier League legends.

Action Images via Reuters

Former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "Please can someone explain to me why @juanmata8 isn’t on that free kick! #specialist".

That tweet drew a response from Cesc Fabregas, who replied with one word - "incredible" - and two emojis summing up his disbelief.

The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder had earlier praised Fred for his recent performances and, responding to a Twitter used who suggested he 'jinxed' the Brazilian's set-piece effort, Fabregas wrote: "Mata should have taken it all day long".

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