MATA FINE WITH UNITED'S STATUS AS UNDERDOGS
FOOTBALL NEWS
13/03/2018 09:00, Report by Adam Marshall
MATA FINE WITH UNITED'S STATUS AS UNDERDOGS
Juan Mata insists Manchester United are ignoring the bookmakers and media pundits' predictions for the Champions League trophy as the Reds seek a quarter-final place with victory against Sevilla.
The Spaniard, unlucky not to score a carbon copy of his famous Anfield goal in the 2-1 win over Liverpool at the weekend, has already won the competition during his time at Chelsea and pays little attention to those who are happy to discount the prospects of Jose Mourinho's men getting our hands on the prize in Kiev.
While it would seem harsh to label a team five points clear in second spot in the Premier League table as underdogs for the title of European champions, the fact is United are currently rated as the seventh most likely winners in May based on the bookmakers' odds.
"When we won the Champions League with Chelsea, it was funny because nobody counted on us," Mata told United Review, the official matchday programme. "In the semi-finals, it was us against Barcelona and Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich.
"Everyone was expecting the final to be Barcelona and Real but the outcome was a different one. We played Bayern in Munich and it was almost impossible for us to win. But we did it. Let’s see what happens."
When it was suggested to Mata that United's goalless draw on the road in Seville perhaps did not earn much credit in the media because it followed high-scoring, almost freakish, away victories for Manchester City [at Basel] and Liverpool [at Porto] in the competition, he was philosophical about the situation.
"We don’t really mind about that," he stated. "We mind about getting through and going to the next round. If we can win and qualify, I am sure we’ll get the credit we probably deserve. The most important thing is to do that and be focused on doing that and not what people or the media will say about it. We want to go as far as we can in the Champions League and that starts by beating Sevilla."
Read the full interview with Juan in Tuesday's edition of United Review, the official matchday programme.
