Juan Mata has proven to be a bit of a mystery during his time at Old Trafford.
After arriving from Chelsea for £45m, the feeling is that he never quite lived up to the expectations of the fans who were so delighted when he signed...
And yet his numbers tell a different story. Despite being moved around several positions that do not suit his abilities, mostly on the wing, he has managed to consistently score and claim assists and has been central in most of United's big wins in recent seasons.
But the managers can never seem to find a role that keeps him in the team every week. As a result, Mata has faced a surprising amount of criticism but tonight was one of the few times we've heard a pundit stick up for him as Jamie Carragher did.
Phil Neville outlined why United bought Mata in the first place, before Carragher gave the Spaniard some overdue praise.
It's hard to argue with him.
He's never lit the league up, but he's never really been given a chance to. The Juan Mata stats speak for themselves, and if you are basing it off of performances from this season in particular, the Man United are a better team with him in the lineup.
Any United fans that haven't come around to Jamie Carragher since he's retired will find it difficult to maintain that stance now.
