This archive report was first published on 1 September 2019.
Manchester United's Juan Mata has expressed frustration after the team's latest disappointing display in the Premier League. The Spanish playmaker believes the team needs to have more killer instinct to secure wins.
Manchester United's season started on a high note with a 4-0 win against Chelsea, but things have gone awry in front of goal since then. The team blew the chance to win at Wolves and suffered a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last weekend.
On Saturday, Manchester United drew 1-1 with Southampton, with Daniel James' brilliant opener cancelled out by Jannik Vestergaard's second-half header. Even Kevin Danso's second-half dismissal for the hosts could not inspire United, who have taken five points from their opening four matches.
Asked about the result, Mata succinctly declared: "Two points dropped." He added, "We were expecting Southampton [to have] some chances and play some good football for some moments. I think we have to come to these kind of games and win and come back to Manchester with three points or the feeling is frustration and two points dropped again."
Manchester United's manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has echoed Mata's sentiments, and the team knows they need to up their game to achieve consistency and win matches.
Despite the disappointing display, Manchester United's exciting talent Daniel James proved to be a thorn in Saints' side and scored a stunning strike that took his Premier League tally to three goals.
"(It was a) very good goal, a fantastic finish," Mata told MUTV. "He's a very hard-working player. He gave us a lot on the wing and even in the second half when everyone was a bit tired, he was still sprinting and giving very dangerous crosses."
Southampton's centre-back, Jannik Vestergaard, impressed at the back and scored an impressive leveller, saying, "We're very happy with a point. I think we deserved it already against Liverpool, when we didn't get it, but today we were rewarded for the hard work we put in."
