Battle of Spanish Midfielders at their prime!

Classic Comparison -

Juan Mata 2012/13 VS David Silva 2011/12 !

Juan Mata and David Silva tale of two Spanish midfielders. Both of them left Valencia to start their new journey at the Premier League, Their journey is very different from one another. A decade ago, England witness an invasion of a different sort. The intensely physical Premier League braced itself for two technically gifted Spanish midfielders. They arrived one year apart, with tiki-taka football acting as a catalyst. They revolutionized English football. A decade on, football is played at a heavy metal pace unsuitable for the men who arrived from Spain a decade earlier. Fondly called as 'Merlin', David Silva has been Manchester City's most reliable player throughout the decade. Manchester City had an artist who conducted the orchestra for a decade. Juan Mata is probably one of the few who are technically adept as Silva. How different Mata's journey would have been with a little luck. ' The Wizard', He was Chelsea's player of the season twice in his first two years. Now he is at best a peripheral figure who remains popular. Having Jose Mourinho as the boss(twice) didn't help his cause. While one walks from Manchester having won 4 PL titles, the other would remain on an unsteady ship in turbulent waters.

Juan Mata vs David Silva

Juan Mata was a different breed during the 2012/13 campaign for Chelsea, He had " 19 goals and 35 assists" from midfield. He played 64 games throughout the season in which he helped Chelsea to win the Europa League. He averaged a goal and assist every 91 minutes throughout the season.

 David Silva had his best season at Eithad during their first title win in 44 years. During the 2011/12 season, he played 49 games throughout the season and won the Premier League. He averaged a goal and assist every 134 minutes throughout the season.

Premier League

Juan Mata averaged 2.8 key passes during the season and ended with 12 assist which was League high during the 2012/13 season. He created 98 chances in 35 games. He completed 85% of his passes, including 2.8 long passes per game. He attempted 1.3 crosses per game during the entirety of the Premier League season He also managed to get 12 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 115 minutes throughout the entire Premier League season.

David Silva averaged 2.9 key passes during the season and ended with 15 assist which was league-high during the 2011/12 season. He created 104 chances in 36 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 1.6 long passes per game. He attempted 1 cross per game during the entirety of the Premier League season. He also managed to get 6 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 134 minutes throughout the entire Premier League season.

Champions League

Juan Mata averaged 2.7 key passes during the season and ended with 3 assists during the 2012/13 Champions League, As they crashed out during the group stage. He created 16 chances in 6 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 2.7 long passes per game. He attempted 2 crosses per game during the entirety of the Champions League season He also managed to get 3 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 74 minutes throughout the entire Champions League.

David Silva averaged 2.2 key passes during the season and ended with 2 assists during the 2011/12 Champions League, As they crashed out during the group stage. He created 13 chances in 2 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 1.8 long passes per game. He managed to get 1 goal. He averaged a goal and assist every 170 minutes throughout the entire Champions  League.

Others

Additional Mata got 5 assists and 1 goal in 490 minutes of Europa League action. He was instrumental in Chelsea's run to semi-finals in both cup competition where he was involved in 5 assists and 1 goal in the FA cup, 2  goals, and  4 assists in the EFL cup. He added a goal and an assist to his tally in the club world cup.

Silva was involved in just a goal in the Europa League, and an assist in both Community Shield and the EFL Cup.

Verdict

Juan Mata was the best player in the Premier League during his first two seasons at Chelsea. Even though his career fell apart he was on par with the best midfielders during his first few seasons. Where Silva gained strength to strength throughout his career, Mata was unlucky where he fell victim to Jose twice and joined Manchester United during their dreadful era.