Juan Mata's upturn in form reflects Manchester United's feelgood factor

ESPN FC's Paul Mariner believes Louis Van Gaal is finally putting his players where they are the most comfortable.

When a former Manchester United player with over 600 appearances to his name left Anfield after Liverpool had beaten Manchester City three weeks ago, he reckoned the excellence of the home team meant bad news for his old club's aspirations of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
"Liverpool are better than us," he opined, with a heavy heart.
United fans shared the despondency. Only 23 percent of those surveyed in a United We Stand poll two weeks ago thought their team would be in the top four at the end of April.
A new poll, following recent victories against Tottenham and Liverpool, showed a huge swing in results, with only four percent now thinking United won't be in the Champions League spots at the end of next month.
In Spain, resultados is a term used to show that the whole mood at a club is determined only by what happened the previous weekend. After successive wins against top four rivals, the mood at Old Trafford is far brighter than two weeks ago.
United weren't in Europe this season but one of the most popular terrace songs remains "The Pride of all Europe" which includes the line: "We beat 'em at home and we beat 'em away."
In recent times, though, United have not regularly beaten teams home and away as they did under Sir Alex Ferguson. They did the "double" over only six of their 19 rivals last season, all of them lowly foes with, Crystal Palace, who finished 11th, the highest-ranked team.
At the start of this month United had beaten just one opponent twice, relegation-threatened QPR. But then the worm turned by the Tyne as a late goal at Newcastle made it two before two glorious Juan Mata goals at Anfield made it three.
If the Tottenham win last week was United's best performance of the season, then the win in L4, where United have regularly been dreadful since 2008, was the highlight of the season so far.
2,800 travelling United fans were in a joyous, magnanimous mood, congratulating Liverpool on their superb 2013-14 season by singing: "You nearly won the league" while Mata was serenaded with a chant of "Who's the best player in the Premier League? It's you, Juan, Juan, It's you, Juan, Juan" to the tune of The Crystals classic, "Da Doo Ron Ron".

Juan Mata and Ander Herrera have been restored to Man United's lineup in recent weeks, with impressive results.

United won despite Wayne Rooney playing as he always does two miles from where he grew up. Ferguson, only half-jokingly, once told him that he was never selecting him to play against Everton and Liverpool again.
At least Marouane Fellaini, formerly of Everton, doesn't suffer when he goes back to Merseyside. He's become an effective United player, one with the physical presence needed when United and Liverpool clash. Brendan Rodgers' side committed 14 fouls, while United offended 17 times as England's biggest two clubs met.
Liverpool substitute Steven Gerrard lasted 38 seconds in his final ever game against United. Visiting fans are mocking him today, but Gerrard has been one of the best English footballers of his generation.
He's a working class Liverpool lad who won the European Cup with his local team and I would have liked to have seen him at Old Trafford when Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to sign him in 2007.
Though he once, to paraphrase another fan chant, kissed the badge on his chest, before putting in a transfer request, the fact that Gerrard would have rather swum Merseyside's River Alt in winter than join United should be respected. Such principles matter in a game of many mercenaries and increasing agent influence.
Jamie Carragher, who spent his whole career with Liverpool, is similar. He knows more about fan culture than perhaps any footballer in England and understands the people who paid his wages. He's long bought opposition fanzines because he wanted to better understand what was going on at rival clubs. There are players at United and Liverpool who don't even know what a fanzine is.
Gerrard and Carragher made the Premier League (a trophy they famously didn't win) better and they strengthened the identity of Liverpool FC. Clubs are better with homegrown players like them coming through their ranks.
They show local kids that dreams can come true and they have a connection with fans in the city their club calls home. They also spend their wages in the city and educate players from afar about what the club means.
There could have been more red cards for Liverpool had Mario Balotelli not been held back by his own fans (including one wearing a Superman t-shirt) from the Kemlyn Road stand and Martin Skrtel hadn't avoided the referee's attention for stamping on David De Gea's ankle. There were sly fouls on both sides.
The day belonged to United, especially the majestic Mata, who not only scored twice -- a brace that will be remembered by fans for years -- but didn't waste a single pass and was a worthy of man of the match.
A thoughtful man as he often shows in his personal blog, the 26-year-old might possibly celebrate by building his own Hadron Collider or studying quantum physics or the works of obscure pre-Raphaelite painters.

LIVERPOOL 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED

- Jolly: Man United are peaking at the right time
- Delaney: Mata downs Liverpool to spark United surge
- Gerrard's stamp on Herrera sends Twitter into meltdown
- Gerrard: "I take full responsibility" for moment of madness
- Van Gaal: Win at Liverpool among my most important ever
- Liverpool Player Ratings: Gerrard idiocy wrecks LFC hopes
- Man Utd Player Ratings: Mata, Fellaini and Herrera superb

Meanwhile, another Spaniard, Ander Herrera, enjoyed another excellent game. He was stamped on by Gerrard, but while he's slight and looks about 16 years old, Herrera is tough and relishes the physical demands of English football.
His pass for Mata's opener exploited space left by another Spaniard, Alberto Moreno, as United got off to their best start at Anfield since 1994 when they charged into a 3-0 lead after 27 minutes.
That game finished 3-3 and while a draw would have satisfied United fans pre-match on Sunday, it wouldn't once Mata had made it two with an splendid overhead kick. It was his seventh Premier League goal of the season and his first since he scored against Liverpool in December. The man born and bred in Burgos, beside Spain's pilgrim trail, will have disciples of his own if he continues to play like that.
Mata, Herrera and the rest of the United players went to the travelling fans at the end of the match and applauded as a crisp chant of "Oh United, we love you" filled a rapidly emptying Anfield. Not only had United beaten their mortal enemy away, they dealt them a huge setback in their own Champions League aspirations and a chance of adding to their five European Cups.
As for that United legend, Gary Neville was back at Anfield to cover the game with Carragher when Louis van Gaal sought out the United former defender after the game. The pair smiled and robust handshakes followed, with both aware their club had earned the best result of the season.
Liverpool may have been better three weeks ago, but not now.
Andy Mitten is a freelance writer and the founder and editor of United We Stand. Follow him on Twitter @AndyMitten.