MANCHESTER // Juan Mata said the prospect of being substituted in Manchester United’s Europa League victory against Rostov on Thursday spurred him on to score the game’s only goal.
“That gave me energy to score,” said the Spaniard, who started and finished the best move of a heavy night for a fatigued United as they struggled to overcome the Russian side.
Mata intercepted a pass in his own half in the 70th minute and found Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a pass while continuing his run.
Ibrahimovic moved the ball right to Henrikh Mkhitaryan before continuing towards the box as United aimed to keep a 100 per cent record of home wins in the Europa League this season.
The Armenian saw the Swede’s run and pushed a low cross towards him. Ibrahimovic flicked the ball with his right foot towards Mata, who scored with his left.
“I try to read where the ball is going to go in the box,” Mata, 28, said. “We need to attack the ball because sometimes we don’t finish the chances and we don’t finish the nice crosses that Daley (Blind) or Antonio (Valencia) put in.
“Today, I saw the ball coming, I thought Ibra could touch the ball, he did it and I scored.”
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Mata believes Ibrahimovic’s assist was an attempt on goal, but the victory sent United’s into Friday’s Europa League quarter-final draw in Switzerland.
“It (the Europa League) became (important) a while ago, very important for us,” Mata said. “I still think we have the chance to get to the Champions League through the Premier League.
“I still think we can win a lot of games and get into the third or fourth positions. But it’s another chance for us and we will take it very seriously.
“It’s very important — it could be one more trophy and it means we play Champions League.”
It was Mata’s 10th goal of the season — the second highest tally at United after Ibrahimovic’s 26.
“I think it’s a good number of goals,” Mata said. “It’s March and there are still a lot of games to go and hopefully I can add many more.
“I have scored 10 and 10 in the last seasons so I’m already on that number and hopefully I can surpass it before the end of the season.”
The former Real Madrid, Valencia and Chelsea player does not class himself as a striker.
“I consider myself a midfielder or an attacking midfielder,” Mata said. “Goals have always been a big part of my game. It’s one of the things I can do to help my teammates — goals, assists and offensive work. Obviously I have to defend as well and run for the others, but goals have always been a big part of my game.”
Mata has been one of Mourinho’s most effective players this season and is a man used to playing 50 games a season.
“I consider myself the same player with more or less the same qualities as I always had,” he said. “It’s always about reaching your confidence level and physically being ready for every game.
“I’m happy with that, and after that trying to help my teammates. This season, I’m scoring goals and I’m happy with that but obviously I want more.”
The 2-1 aggregate win was vital for United in a week where they were eliminated from the FA Cup, losing 1-0 to Chelsea on Monday in the quarter-finals.
“Obviously it was a disappointment on Monday that we went out — it could have been another trophy in a season where we have already won two,” Mata said. “But we need to focus on what we are in.
“We are in the Premier League — obviously not playing for the championship — but playing for the third or fourth position, and trying to win the Europa League.
“It will be good for the museum in the stadium and for us to play Champions League next season.”
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Fixtures:
Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final
Table:
1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10
2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8
3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6
4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4
5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
