Premier League champions-elect Manchester City may have put their illustrious neighbours in the shade this season, but Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has promised the Red Devils faithful that Jose Mourinho’s men will go all out to disrupt City’s title party when the Manchester Derby kicks off the coming weekend.

“We went back to the Premier League after the international break, and we did it at the place we like the most, Old Trafford, and in a way that we also like, winning and feeling good,” Mata wrote on his personal blog in the aftermath of their 2-0 win over Swansea City on the weekend.

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“This week we will keep working on a game that many people are already talking about. Of course I mean the derby against City,” the 29-year-old expressed as he continued, “This game doesn’t come in an ideal situation, for there’s quite a gap of points between the two of us, but we all know that it’s a special game.”

City are heavy favourites to win complete the double over their derby rivals and are on the verge of being crowned Premier League champions but Mata insisted the Red Devils would do their best to put their champagne on ice as he stressed, “We’re looking forward to playing against them and having a good performance. That’s what our fans deserve.”

“The victory against Swansea was important because we got the three points and we clearly deserved to win.

“Scoring an early goal is always a good help, and that 1-0 was the key to keep playing with confidence and trying to get more goals. The feelings were really good in the first half. I think it was one of the best first halves of the season.”

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United had an excellent first-half, with the interplay between Mata, Jesse Lingard, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku electric at times but their intensity saw a marked dip post the interval and Mata was keen on pointing out that they did the job and secured the three points in the end.

“In the second half the pace wasn’t that high,” Mata admitted as he continued, “but we managed to keep the score and win.”

United’s win over the Swans was notable for Lukaku as the burly Belgian registered his 100th Premier League goal and his teammate was all praises for the centre forward, who’s had his share of critics this season.

“In particular, I’d like to congratulate Romelu Lukaku for his goal 100th in the Premier League. Reaching that number of goals at the age of 24 is something truly exceptional that only the great goalscorers can achieve.”

“I’m happy especially for Romelu, because his work for the team doesn’t reflect only through his goals. He is a great guy and he deserves it,” Mata added.