Juan Mata labels Marcus Rashford ‘special’
Manchester United cruised to a 4-0 win over winless Crystal Palace at the weekend as they kept pace with rivals Manchester City at the top. While the game was as much a team effort as anything else, Spanish star Juan Mata singled out English-forward Marcus Rashford following the game. Mata told Sky Sports: “I think he has been brilliant. I think he is a special kid. I think he has a lot of talents and he has got a good mentality, which is important in that age. And he is performing very well, week in week out. Even coming from the bench, he is helping a lot. I really believe he is going to be a big player for club and country”.
Nemanja Matic insists United can cope without Paul Pogba
United midfielder Nemanja Matic has insisted that Manchester United still have the players to cope without record signing Paul Pogba in the side. Pogba, who picked up an injury against Basel in the Champions League, is reportedly facing a long-term absence from the team, but Matic believes United will be okay without him. He explained: “Everyone knows that Paul is very important for Manchester United, but we also have great players to play instead of him. We showed in the last few games that everyone in Manchester is ready to play and everyone can help us”.
Mata surprised by Romelu Lukaku’s scoring impact
While Juan Mata knew of Romelu Lukaku’s scoring ability, he had no idea that the forward would hit the ground running in such convincing fashion. As reported by Sky Sports, Mata said: “It’s a lot of goals, especially when you come to a new environment. I knew he would score a lot but I didn’t know he would do it so quick, that’s true”. The Belgium international has now scored 11 goals in 10 appearances for United since his big-money move from Everton in the summer.
Jose Mourinho insists it is too early to know if United are league contenders
United manager Mourinho has witnessed his team make a very promising start to the season as they sit joint top with Manchester City going into the second international break of the season. While many people have installed United as an early title favourite, Mourinho insists it is too early to make these judgements. He said: “It’s too early. Seven matches. It’s too early”. These are sentiments Matic echoed as he said: “It’s too early to say something is favourite to win the league, but for sure there is five or six teams who are going to compete this year”.