Juan Mata Will Be Integral to Any Success Manchester United Enjoy This Season

Juan Mata's performance against Sunderland gave ample evidence of why he will be so important to Manchester United as they try to maintain their lofty league position.

He was awarded Man of the Match by fans on Twitter. With a goal and an assist, that award was well earned. It was a continuation of his fine form—he has "has either scored or assisted in five of his last six Premier League appearances," per OptaJoe on Twitter.

This is all happening in spite of the fact he is being played away from his natural position, No. 10, and doing plenty of defensive work. Louis van Gaal has called Mata a “false right-winger,” per Sky Sports, and it is an apt description of his current position.

When United do not have the ball, he provides support for his full-back and has made an average of 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in the league this season. This is a departure for Mata, who has never averaged an interception per game in any previous season of his career.

When United do have the ball, Mata's instinct—and presumably his instruction, given how long he has been doing it without any correction from Van Gaal—is to come in off the wing.

His heat map against Sunderland shows he made barely a touch anywhere near the byline in behind the full-back—a position a more traditional winger would have more touches. 

Instead, his activity is focused on the right-hand side of the pitch around 25 to 35 yards from goal. He is playing, essentially, as a supplementary No. 10 who starts from the right.

There are certainly problems with United's attacking shape, given Memphis Depay on the opposite flank likes to cut in too. Wayne Rooney, playing at 10 against Sunderland, really struggled to find space. Partly this is about Rooney's ability as a No. 10, but it is also because the centre of the pitch is so congested.

However, the sacrifice of an out-and-out right-winger—which might add balance to United's attacking shape—is validated by Mata's individual contribution.

Unless Van Gaal actually drops Rooney—and few things in football seem less likely to happen than that—Mata will and should be shoehorned in on the right.

He does the defensive part of the role well enough that he causes no trouble to the team in that regard. And his attacking contribution offers things hardly anyone else in the United team can.

He might well have the softest first touch of any of Van Gaal's attackers. It was on show against Ipswich Town in the League Cup when he trapped a ball out of the sky and killed its momentum. It was on show again for his goal against Sunderland: He used his first touch to stop the ball in its tracks, setting himself up for a shot at a practically dead ball.

He also has a speed of thought that separates him from his team-mates.

The first half against Sunderland was a soporific affair with plenty of anodyne possession and not much in the way of chances. However, when the fourth official raised the board saying there were four minutes to be added and the announcement was made, the crowd lifted.

A renewed sense of urgency was transmitted to the team. Mata made an absolutely brilliant run when Daley Blind had the ball. Mata knew his team-mate's range of passing well enough to know the ball could reach him in behind Sunderland's defence.

It appeared to take the defence by surprise—and was a type of movement that had not been seen during the first half. Blind found him, he laid the ball off to Memphis and the game was transformed. It was a moment of quick thinking and perfect execution.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Van Gaal has brought a very different approach to Manchester United. The measured, patient buildup play requires moments of invention and intelligence to turn dominance into goals. Juan Mata has and will continue to provide plenty of them. He is a vital part of United's recent good form and will be integral to any success they have this season.

All advanced statistics and heat maps per WhoScored.com except where otherwise stated.