Manchester United’s shock defeat at home to basement-dwelling West Bromwich Albion didn’t go down well with the Red Devils faithful, but United midfielder Juan Mata has insisted the performance against the Baggies was a one-off and there’s still plenty to play for this season.
“I know that you don’t want to read anything after a defeat like this one, that any comments made after the game sound like hollow words. I’m not trying to explain anything here, or to make an excuse, I just want to keep this weekly meeting with you, although in days like this one it’s complicated,” Mata penned on his personal blog.
United’s second loss of the season had greater significance as it signalled the end of their title challenge, with derby rivals Manchester City mathematically assured of the Premier League crown with five games left in the season.
“Some Mondays are happy and some others are not. This is one of the latter.”
What made the West Brom loss even more bewildering was the fact that the Red Devils had scripted a rousing comeback in the Manchester Derby a week ago to delay the Sky Blues’ title party.
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“We played a bad game this Sunday. There’s not much to add. There’s nothing to detract from West Bromwich, but we didn’t live up to our expectations. It’s disappointing, even more after the win last week, but this is football.”
United now turn their attentions to a midweek clash with Bournemouth and after Wednesday’s trip to the Vitality Stadium, they have the small matter of a FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur to prepare for.
“That’s why it’s so important to keep the right balance in the good and in the bad times. Congratulations to Manchester City, who are mathematically the Premier League winners.”
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Third-placed Liverpool trail them by just a solitary point, with Spurs three points further back and it is imperative that United win their game in hand against a struggling Cherries side on Wednesday.
“We will keep focusing on two goals from here to the end of the season: keeping the second place and trying to get to the FA Cup final and to win the title. In order to do that, this new week is really important,” Mata added.