Juan Mata: Man United must show that we can beat the big teams

Juan Mata is desperate to help Manchester United show that they can mix it with the Premier League’s best when they host Manchester City on Tuesday night.

United bounced back from their demoralising 3-0 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford by beating West Ham United on Saturday ahead of this week’s derby showdown.

We need to show we can win against the big teams

Juan Mata

And Mata, who is yet to score for the Red Devils following his £37.1m switch from Chelsea in January, is determined for David Moyes’ men to record a positive result against Manuel Pellegrini’s title chasers.

“We need to show we can win against the big teams,” Mata told United Review. “It wasn’t a good game against Liverpool. Yes, they played well, but I think we can do better.

“It will be difficult because City are one of the best teams in the Premier League right now. They play great football and have a lot of quality players, but in our stadium and in front of supporters I think we can have a good game.”

Mata went on to stress the importance of the Old Trafford crowd.

“They are our 12th player and are so important to us. They deserve a reward from our side,” he added.

“What we experienced in the Liverpool game was unbelievable. We lost 3-0 on a very difficult day yet when we were walking off the pitch at the end they were singing and clapping. It was amazing. They deserve more nights like we saw against Olympiacos [last week].”