Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is hoping to see his side finish off a roller coaster season riding a high, by earning, and then winning, a tenth game in the form of the FA Cup final. United have a guaranteed nine contests left- eight in the Premier League and a ninth against Tottenham in the FA Cup semis on April 21.
If Mata and company can beat Spurs at Wembley Stadium, the north London side’s temporary home this season, they’ll be in position to play for their 13th FA Cup title, which would tie the record. If they claim that trophy it would also be the only piece of silverware won this season, as the campaign has been sans trophy up to this point.
That’s obviously more than a bit disappointing, as year one of Jose Mourinho saw United at least claim the Community Shield, Europa League and EFL Cup trophies. On the plus side though, United are on pace to finish second in the league (after finishing sixth in the table last season), and they did reach the knockout round of Champions League competition, something they had not accomplished in a few years
“Having a look at the calendar, I see that there are only nine games remaining. Hopefully ten, because that will mean that we made it to the FA Cup final which will take place at Wembley on the 19th of May,” said Juan Mata, currently on leisure during this international break, having not been selected for this specific Spain roster.
“So that’s our goal: playing ten games from here to the end of the season.The first one is next Saturday, back to the Premier League.
“We will play at Old Trafford against Swansea and a victory would be very important to show that we want to maintain our position at the table.
“Then, we will have plenty of time to think about the derby and the rest of the games ahead.”
Claiming that trophy would certainly be a nice way for Juan Mata and company to go out this term. Especially since Jose Mourinho and United have so polarized opinion in the football world and attracted so much criticism in 2018-19.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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