Juan Manuel Mata Garcia is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Spain national team. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing.
A skillful attacking midfielder, Mata is known for his passing and technique. At 5'7" he has a medium build that further facilitates agile mobility, Mata possesses great vision that allows him to provide assists to accompanying forwards.
On 6 December 2011, during Chelsea's decisive Champions League match against former club Valencia CF, Mata created two assists for both of Didier Drogba goals. The game ended in a 3-0 win, which resulted in Chelsea qualifying first from their group. In the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich on 19 May, Mata assisted Didier Drogba's headed equalizer from a corner kick in the 88th minute, which helped Chelsea go on to win 4-3 in the penalty-shootout, lifting their first Champions League title. Mata finished his first season at Stamford Bridge with 573 passes, creating 66 chances and completing 61 successful crosses, which all contributed to Chelsea's cup-double winning season. He finished the Premier League season with 14 assists - second highest in the league after Manchester City's David Silva - and six goals.
In 2012–13 season, Mata went on to win the Premier League Player of the Month award for October after scoring three league goals. On 15 May, Mata gave a fine performance in the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final against Portugal's Benfica, assisting Branislav Ivanovic's injury time winner from a corner kick. The next day, he was awarded Chelsea's Player's Player of the Year award.
On 22 March 2015, Mata scored a brace, including a bicycle kick, in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool, a performance which he rated as his best for Manchester United. His second goal against Liverpool was also voted as Premier League Goal of the Month in March 2015. His inspired performances led to him being named as Manchester United's Player of the Month for March.
Mata joined the senior squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and, after coming on as a substitute, scored Spain's fourth goal in the final as Spain defeated Italy 4–0 to retain their title as champions of Europe.
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