Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal of the game to hand United a vital 1-0 victory against Southampton on Saturday to keep up with Manchester City at the top of the table.
While United took control in the first half, with Lukaku’s goal coming in the 20th minute, it was far from plain sailing for the second 45 minutes.
Southampton piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser with Marouane Fellaini needing to clear Oriol Romeu’s header off the line.
But Mata drew parallels with how Southampton must have felt with United’s campaign last year when they drew 15 games.
“The truth is they didn’t deserve to lose but football is like that sometimes,” Mata wrote on his personal blog.
“We know a couple of things about it, since we were in the same situation several times last season.
“It was not our best game, that’s for sure, but luckily we managed to get the three points.
“This kind of games can make the difference between reaching the end of the season with a chance to fight for the title or not. We did a good work defensively and that was the key to win.
“The three points keep us up in the table and with a high level of confidence, but that’s the past already. The schedule doesn’t allow for a break and we’re now focused on the Champions League.
He added: “After winning the first game in the group stage it would be great to do the same in such a top clash.”
