Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has heaped praise on "magic" Juan Mata after he scored his first A-League goal. Mata, 36, joined Western Sydney Wanderers in September after leaving Vissel Kobe.

He made his Westies debut against Sydney FC in October and has since featured in each of their first 11 league matches of the 2024/25 season. Mata had failed to score in any of his first ten appearances but he made no mistake in a 3-2 defeat to Macarthur, netting his maiden goal for the club.

After Jed Drew had given Macarthur the lead, Mata equalised for the Westies. It was a fine strike from the Spanish magician, who was found on the edge of the area and he expertly placed the ball into the bottom corner. The ex-United midfielder cut a delighted figure after scoring for the first time since January 2023.

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And reacting to a video of the goal from A-League's Instagram channel, Fernandes posted a message to his former teammate on his story. The Portuguese, who boasts nine million followers, said: "The year changes but magic never disappears @juanmatagarcia," alongside a love heart eyes emoji.

David de Gea, meanwhile, wrote: "The left foot," followed by a fire emoji.

Mata joined United for £37.1million from Chelsea in January 2014 and almost immediately became a fans' favourite at Old Trafford. He scored six times and added four assists in his first 15 matches for United and started the following season in fine fettle, notably scoring twice against bitter rivals Liverpool.

The ex-Valencia star was a consistent performer at the start of his United career and hit double-figures for goals in each of his first three full years at Old Trafford. Mata continued to impress and helped United win the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League within the space of 12 months.

Although United started to decline, Mata remained a mainstay in the side and he left the club upon the end of his contract in June 2022. During his time at United, Mata scored 51 goals and added 45 assists in 285 matches.