Manchester United attacking midfielder Juan Mata has explained how he has been doing extra work on his free-kicks in training at the moment.
The Spaniard notably scored a superb equaliser against Juventus in the Champions League last night as United turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in the final few minutes.
It was a thrilling comeback and one of United’s best European results in recent history, and none of it would have been possible without the perfect placement from Mata on that late free-kick.
Speaking to BT Sport afterwards, as quoted in the Metro, Mata revealed he’s been practising his set plays with extra time spent on the training ground in a bid to perfect his technique.
The 30-year-old has always been a reliable scorer from long range, but it does seem like he’s only got better recently, having also netted a lovely effort from a dead ball situation in the recent comeback win over Newcastle.
‘I have confidence in free kicks at the moment,’ he said.
‘I train a lot after training sessions I like to stay with some balls and some goalkeepers they help me a lot too.’
Red Devils fans have been blessed with great free-kick takers in their history, with David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo among the best examples of set-piece specialists to play for the club, though others like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Robin van Persie weren’t too bad at them either.