Juan Mata praises 'decisive' Ashley Young for sparking Man Utd comeback against City

JUAN MATA has hailed Ashley Young's decisive role in helping Manchester United secure derby victory over Manchester City yesterday.

Juan MataGETTY

Juan Mata has praised Ashley Young

Young levelled the match for United after Sergio Aguero opened the scoring for City.

And the winger went on to provide the assist for Marouane Fellaini as United hit the lead.

Writing in his blog Mata said: "Ashley was decisive to tie the score and also in our second goal, and after that we could control the game and add up three more points that are very important to reach our goal.

Ashley was decisive to tie the score and also in our second goal, and after that we could control the game and add up three more points that are very important to reach our goal.

Juan Mata

"Perhaps the most remarkable thing, once again, was the character and personality shown by the team after a bad start of the game."

Mata also took time to praise the Old Trafford crowd for creating an atmosphere that spurred United to victory.

He added: "As I write this I'm still full of adrenaline after our win in the derby.

"Beating your Manchester rival and, on top of that, being able to score in front of your crowd is a truly amazing feeling, especially because we stretch our good moment and we keep adding points.

"I have to admit that it was arguably the game with the best atmosphere at home since I arrived to United, and I realised that already during the warm-up.

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"It was a special game, we had had several consecutive defeats against City and both the fans and the players felt it was time to change that streak.

"It's not easy to explain with words what you feel on the pitch, but the thrill of a comeback in a derby is something I will never forget.

"The result was amazing, although it is true that things were looking bad at the beginning.

"They had a strong start, played great football in the first few minutes and managed to score first, but our team showed character and soon afterwards we were able to come back, which confirms that this team does not give up easily.

"We have plenty of confidence in ourselves, that's something you can tell in both the good and the bad moments."

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