Juan Mata has conceded that Manchester United need to produce more performance such as the one they produced in their 4-1 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.
Without a win in four games, Jose Mourinho’s men were under pressure ahead of the clash at Old Trafford, but they absolutely swept Fulham away in the first half.
Goals from Ashley Young, Mata himself and Romelu Lukaku allowed the home side to race to a 3-0 lead in the first half and more or less finish the game off before the break.
Their intensity dropped and they failed to keep a clean sheet again, but Marcus Rashford scored a fourth to provide more gloss to their performance.
Mata admits that Manchester United need to put in more such performances in order to entertain the fans and gain more confidence this season.
He said on Sky Sports: "It was the start that we needed. We know that we have to start better because it is not right to always be chasing the game.
“We need these performances more often.
"The fans today enjoyed it and that is the Manchester United that we want to see.
"It is not always easy to make sure you don't relax in the second half. They scored, that was as a shock for us, so we needed to score again.
"But overall, it was a good performance.”
Mata bagged his 50th goal in the Premier League against Fulham and he was pleased with the intensity with which he played.
But he admits Manchester United have a big ask in front of them as they look to recover from a poor start to the season and get back into contention for a top-four finish.
"I felt very good, especially in the first half. I thought we played with more intensity.
"Every game is really, really important.
"We cannot afford to lose a lot of points from now until the end of the season.
"We have a difficult task [to get up into the top four]."
