Monday 24 October 2016 12:14, UK
Juan Mata says Manchester United's players and fans must stay strong if they are to bounce back from their Chelsea humiliation in Wednesday's EFL Cup derby with rivals City.
Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea ended a six-match unbeaten run for Jose Mourinho's side and they must now face Pep Guardiola's table-toppers at Old Trafford for a place in the last eight of the cup.
Mata, introduced at half-time at Stamford Bridge, admitted United were undone after conceding inside the first minute, but knows United can ill-afford to wallow in self-pity.
"Things got complicated since the first minute," Mata wrote on his blog. "By conceding an early goal, the game we had in mind changed completely, and from that moment we weren't able to come back. Chelsea had a much better start than us and we paid dearly for it.
"Once they scored the second goal, we tried to control the game a bit more by keeping the ball in Chelsea's half of the pitch, but obviously, they were feeling very comfortable in a compact defence, and every time we lost the ball they had an opportunity to initiate a dangerous counter-attack. We created some chances to score and get into the game, but I had the feeling that whenever we were close to doing that, we were punished with another goal.
"But we must carry on. Luckily, in three days we have a very important fixture, and as from now we must focus on this new opportunity to get better. It sounds like a cliche but it's true: when we win and everybody praises you it's easy to be united and celebrate together, but it is now, after such a defeat, when we must remain mentally strong and keep going. Together we win and together we lose."
