The Spaniard has been vital in setting up goals for the Nigerian in his short stint at Old Trafford so far
Odion Ighalo’s arrival on loan from Shanghai Shenhua has seen him hit the ground running which has aided Manchester United‘s progress in the Europa League and FA Cup, thanks partly to the growing bond with Juan Mata.
Of the four goals the Nigerian has scored in the aforementioned competitions, Mata has had a hand in two.
The first was Ighalo’s maiden goal in the 5-0 bashing of Club Brugge in the Europa League Round of 32 second leg, while the second came in United’s 3-0 FA Cup fifth round win at Derby County.
This led to Ighalo declaring his fondness for the Spaniard on social media.
Find you a Boss that loves you the way @juanmata8 loves me 😂🤣😜🔴 pic.twitter.com/Lyc6xGL842
— Odion Jude Ighalo (@ighalojude) March 11, 2020
“Find you a Boss that loves you the way Juan Mata loves me,” Ighalo posted on Twitter a day before Manchester United took on LASK in the Europa League Round of 16.
Ighalo hit the target in that game as the Red Devils won 5-0.
Though it was Bruno Fernandes that assisted Ighalo this time, Mata went on Twitter to respond back to Ighalo’s earlier tweet.
“Find someone that loves you the way Odion Ighalo loves me,” Mata tweeted after the game.
Find someone that loves you the way @ighalojude loves me. 😂🙌🔴 @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/bpnn1IYGIV
— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) March 12, 2020
Also speaking to MUTV after the match, Mata was happy with Ighalo and Fernandes’ presence in the team.
“It’s great to have Bruno in the team, and also Odion who is scoring in almost every single game that he plays,” the former Chelsea playmaker said.
“They’re great guys, and we’re very happy now with them in the team.”
Manchester United were supposed to tackle Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League before hosting LASK in the Europa League return leg at Old Trafford next week.
Both fixtures have however been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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