Manchester United forward Juan Mata is relishing Manchester United’s trip to face Chelsea in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. The tie, which will be played on the weekend of March 11th/12th will pit Mata and manager Jose Mourinho with their former club at Stamford Bridge, and Mata, writing in his personal blog on Monday morning, is excited at the prospect.
“We were just leaving Ewood Park (where United had beaten Blackburn Rovers 1-2 on Sunday evening) when we knew through the social networks our rival in the last eight: Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Needless to say, it’s going to be another special game for me. This is, without a doubt, one of the most complicated ties we could have, but we will go there with the big motivation of earning a ticket to Wembley and forget the bad taste of our last visit to Stamford Bridge. But, before that, we have very important games to play.”
The aforementioned visit to Chelsea’s ground was of course October’s 4-0 thumping at the hands of Antonio Conte’s side, with the Italian leading his team to the top of the Premier League where they currently enjoy a lead of eight points over second-placed Manchester City. United’s record at Stamford Bridge is wretched, having failed to best their opponents in London since 2012 in the Premier League, and both Mourinho and his side will be hoping for a far more positive outcome next month.
