Many will be wondering why even analyze Mata’s performance when he hasn’t played much this season. But, the truth really is that Juan Mata has started 11 league games and came on as substitute in 2 games. Among the 7 players fighting for 3 spots of attacking midfielders, Juan Mata still has played more minutes than everyone except Hazard and Oscar.
Minutes Played by Chelsea Attacking Midfielders
Hence going forward with the analysis, we’ll compare Juan Mata’s performance with the entire team and also among the 6 players (van Ginkel played so less to be included in the analysis) he is fighting for the attacking midfielder position.
ATTACKING ANALYSIS:
Chelsea Attacking Midfielders – Attacking Statistics 2013-14* season
Impact wise – Among the attacking midfielders, Hazard and Oscar has impacted 13 and 8 goals respectively. Among the others, Schurrle and Willian has more goal impacts in less minutes played than Juan Mata’s. Juan Mata and Kevin De Bruyne (2 starts and 1 subs) are the only attacking midfielders who haven’t scored yet for Chelsea.
Attempt wise – Juan Mata has the lowest shots per game among the six players. All the midfielders and attackers except John Obi Mikel have better Shots per game than Juan Mata. Juan Mata’s shots per game is only better than Cahill, Mikel and Ashley Cole.
Dribbling Skill wise – He is 4th in both successful dribbles per game and turnover per game.
DEFENSIVE ANALYSIS:
Chelsea Attacking Midfielders – Defending Statistics 2013-14* season
In all the defensive statistics, Juan Mata ranks in the bottom three. Juan Mata has the least number of Aerial Duels won per game. Though Aerial Duels needs height advantage, Eden Hazard with same height has twice more Aerial Duels won than Juan Mata. One of the key concerning areas for Chelsea is the number of interceptions made in a game. Eden Hazard, Willian and Andre Schurrle are the three attacking midfielders with the better score in this aspect. Juan Mata in this aspect is better only than the 3 strikers (Samuel Eto, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba) in the entire team.
PASSING ANALYSIS:
Chelsea Attacking Midfielders – Passing Statistics 2013-14* season
Passing is the strength of Juan Mata and numbers reflect the same. He has been in the top two in all the passing parameters. He has the highest successful passing percentage among all the attacking midfielders and he is the fifth best passing player in the team in this aspect. On key passes per game, he stands second only to Eden Hazard. He also has the highest accurate crosses per game.
YEAR-ON-YEAR PERFORMANCE AT CHELSEA:
Juan Mata Season-over-Season Performance Analysis
Finally, we need to compare how Juan Mata fares in comparison to the previous two seasons. The areas where Juan Mata has shown improvement over the previous seasons are Successful passes, Aerial Duels, Tackles and Keeping the ball intact. But, in important parameters like Interceptions, Key Passes, Long Balls and Shots, his performance has taken a back foot.
With this change in Juan Mata’s performance over years among existing and new attacking midfielders, do you think he can retain his position in Chelsea’s attack?
Related Articles
- http://12thplayersview.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/chelsea-fc-oscar-or-juan-mata-for-10-position/ (Chelsea FC : Oscar or Juan Mata for #10 position? | 12th player’s view)
- http://footballspectator.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/analysis-of-premiership-midfielders/ (Analysis of Premiership midfielders)
EPL Statistics 
Chelsea have so much talent in the attacking midfield position. Mata’s stats aren’t that bad. However, perhaps Mourinho has identified Hazard and Oscar as truly special players.
I believe Juan Mata’s competitor in the team is more of Willian than Hazard or Oscar. Because of Willian’s direct impact in the team, Mourinho will prefer him over Mata.
For me, Juan Mata has always been a great player. He is not overrated he was an asset to Chelsea.