Mata's Two Assists against Spurs (FA Cup)

JUAN MATA'S GOAL in the FA Cup semifinals against Tottenham was one of the major talking points of the game. The same old did-it-or-did-it-not-cross-the-line discussion. Lost under all this crap about the legitimacy of his goal is the fact that Mata curved Tottenham defense wide open with two well-executed passes that led to two Chelsea goals by Ramires and Malouda. Let's take a quick look.


Ramires Goal

Picture 1. Mata's Assist for Ramires

Malouda Goal

Picture 2. Mata's Assist for Malouda

In both cases, Mata exploited the space offered by the Tottenham defense near the edge of the penalty box by making two accurate chip passes that put Ramires and Malouda through. These, of course, were the Spaniard's 15th and 16th assist for Chelsea this season but we should not take his vision and execution for these kinds of passes for granted. He was bought to create chances like these and that is exactly what he does since his early days in Chelsea outfit. He has definitely been an outstanding addition not just to the Chelsea squad but also to the league, even if some don't like to admit it.

Carefree, wherever you may be...