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Cape Town - Spanish midfielder Juan Mata has expressed his thoughts on the tough loss against arch-rivals Manchester City.
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Mata was an unused substitute as he side slumped to their third defeat in the EPL this season as well as their record-equalling fourth in a rows loss against their bitter cross-town rivals.
Mata wrote on his blog:
"Today I’m writing to you from home after a defeat that is not easy to take. A derby is always special and the one in Manchester is really intense, you can feel it in the streets during the week. That’s why it’s hard to accept that we have lost and, despite not being able to help my team-mates on the pitch, I can tell you that the whole team is very upset.
Playing away against City is always challenging because they have a big offensive potential, as it was shown, but having one player sent off in the first half just makes things more complicated. This is the fifth time this season that one of us gets a red card, so unfortunately we already know what it means to have one player less. But even if Agüero scored and we were just 10, our team showed pride and almost tied the game, although this time it was not possible. To be honest, right now, rather than looking at the table we have to focus on our path in order to improve and to win games.
Obviously this situation is not what we wanted, but in this moment the team must stick together and keep on going. I’m sure we will do it.
I’m leaving you now, but before that I would like to congratulate my friend David de Gea for his award as the best player of United in October. I’ve been lucky to get that trophy in the past and I really value it because it is given by the fans through their votes.
Our situation is not nice, I can tell you, but I’m fully confident that we will change it against Crystal Palace."
