Manchester United got the Juan Mata era off to a positive start with a win over Cardiff.
Here are five notable stats from the game:
1) Manchester United and Cardiff both completed a higher percentage of passes in this match, than any other game this season.
| Team | Match | Matchday | Pass Completion % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | 88.77 |
| Manchester United | Man Utd vs Stoke | 09 | 88.50 |
| Manchester United | Man Utd vs West Ham | 17 | 88.10 |
| Manchester United | Hull vs Man Utd | 18 | 86.22 |
| Manchester United | Man City vs Man Utd | 05 | 86.19 |
| Team | Match | Matchday | Pass Completion % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff City | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | 87.95 |
| Cardiff City | Cardiff vs West Ham | 21 | 84.71 |
| Cardiff City | Fulham vs Cardiff | 06 | 81.86 |
| Cardiff City | Man City vs Cardiff | 22 | 81.18 |
| Cardiff City | Hull vs Cardiff | 04 | 79.80 |
2) Juan Mata’s four key passes in a single game, became the joint third highest individual display in that category this season among Manchester United players – putting himself among a cluster of players to have made that number in a match.
| Player | Match | Matchday | Pos | Total Att Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Rooney | Cardiff vs Man Utd | 12 | FW | 9 |
| Wayne Rooney | Man Utd vs West Ham | 17 | FW | 6 |
| Patrice Evra | Man Utd vs Stoke | 09 | DF | 4 |
| Patrice Evra | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | DF | 4 |
| Adnan Januzaj | Man Utd vs Spurs | 20 | MF | 4 |
| Juan Mata | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | MF | 4 |
| Nani | Man Utd vs West Brom | 06 | MF | 4 |
| Wayne Rooney | Man Utd vs Crystal Palace | 04 | FW | 4 |
| Luis Antonio Valencia | Aston Villa vs Man Utd | 16 | MF | 4 |
3) Substitute Tom Cleverley made more tackles and interceptions in 19 minutes than the man he replaced, Ryan Giggs, did in central midfield during 71.
| Player | Team | Pos | Won Tackle | Interception Won | Touches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Cleverley | Man Utd | MF | 1 | 1 | 17 | 19 |
| Ryan Giggs | Man Utd | MF | 0 | 0 | 49 | 71 |
4) Cardiff City’s Craig Bellamy made more accurate passes against Manchester United than he has done in any game this season.
| Player | Match | Matchday | Accurate Pass | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Bellamy | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | 49 | 90 |
| Craig Bellamy | Aston Villa vs Cardiff | 11 | 40 | 82 |
| Craig Bellamy | Cardiff vs West Ham | 21 | 29 | 45 |
| Craig Bellamy | Cardiff vs Everton | 03 | 24 | 79 |
| Craig Bellamy | Cardiff vs Swansea | 10 | 21 | 90 |
5) A returning Robin van Persie completed more successful dribbles against Cardiff than he has done in any United game in 2013/14.
| Player | Match | Matchday | Won Contest | Goals | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin van Persie | Man Utd vs Cardiff | 23 | 3 | 1 | 63 |
| Robin van Persie | Fulham vs Man Utd | 10 | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Robin van Persie | Sunderland vs Man Utd | 07 | 2 | 0 | 90 |
| Robin van Persie | Man Utd vs Arsenal | 11 | 1 | 1 | 85 |
image: © Doha Stadium Plus
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