MATA SHATTERS THE HATTERS
THESE are unprecedented times but Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relieved to discover some things don’t change.
Namely, Juan Mata remains a delightful player at 32, with a silky ability to illuminate and influence any contest, while United are usually guaranteed a penalty.
These two reliable old forces combined in Solskjaer’s favour at Kenilworth Road last night.
Mata flickered, sparkled and scored from the spot, just before half-time, and that looked sufficient on its own to beat spirited Luton and secure a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup before late goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood added some extra gloss to the scoreline.
It was United’s 23rd penalty in all competitions since the start of last season. They have converted 19 of them and it saw their season creep into life after a belated start and home defeat against Crystal Palace.
Brandon Williams, surging forward from left-back, produced an explosive change of pace and was tripped by George Moncur as he moved inside the area. There was not a lot of contact but Williams was caught and went down.
Referee Tim Robinson pointed to the spot and Mata sent goalkeeper James Shea the wrong way to claim his first goal since he scored in the 5-0 Europa League win at LASZ Linz in March.
It was Luton’s first clash with
United since they were top-flight rivals in 1992 and they refused to be subdued by that body-blow.
Playing with ambition and purpose, Danny Hylton flashed the ball low across Dean Henderson’s goal, soon after the restart, but there was no one up in support. Williams was booked for taking down Kazenga LuaLua to halt a dangerous break but United had chances to extend their lead.
Luton centre-half Sonny Bradley blocked from Odion Ighalo and then Ryan Tunnicliffe made a crucial clearance to deny Jesse Lingard on the goal line.
But Tom Lockyer came close to an equaliser in a late scramble when Henderson made a strong save and Eric Bailly cleared off the line.
Mata said: ‘It was one of those games where, if you win, you did what you had to do and, if you lose, it’s a mess. We did a professional job today, we didn’t concede a goal, we scored three and played some good football.’