Mata puts in the hard yards to defy ‘lazy’ tag

MANCHESTER UNITED, the laziest team in the Premier League according to the stats, put in the hard yards yesterday, none more so than Juan Mata, whose lung-busting performance was capped with a dazzling team goal.

Mata ran further than any other player against Leicester and was rewarded for his efforts by putting the finishing touch to a stunning team move for United’s second goal.

The Spaniard, of course, was famously sold to United from Chelsea by Jose Mourinho two years ago because he supposedly didn’t have the Portuguese gaffer’s work ethic, though he made a nonsense of that accusation by running 11.3km yesterday — even more impressive considering he was substituted after 87 minutes.

Mata’s efforts were mirrored by his team-mates — including Paul Pogba (above) — who had received plenty of flak during last week when it was revealed they had run fewer yards than any other club in the Premier League, averaging 105.3km per match.