Man United's Juan Mata: Anthony Martial 'has something special'

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata said that he knew from the beginning that teammate Anthony Martial was a "special" player.

Martial, 20, scored in United's 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday, meaning that the striker has netted the team's only goal in three successive home games.

The Frenchman had previously scored at Old Trafford against West Ham United and then a penalty against Liverpool, as both games finished 1-1, in the FA Cup and Europa League respectively.

His strike against Everton was his 13th goal for United since joining the club from Monaco on Sept. 1 and Mata says that his talent was obvious.

"Since day one that I have trained with him, I have felt that this guy has something special," Mata told MUTV. "He has everything to succeed in football at this club. He is quick, has goals, he can beat players one on one and he understands football."

Mata also praised young full-back Tim Fosu-Mensah, who came on at half-time against Everton and delivered the cross that Martial scored from. The Dutchman has made the breakthrough into the first-team this season and Mata was keen to highlight his fearlessness when playing on the biggest stage.

"He is a very useful addition," he added. "With the injury to Daley Blind, he had to play centre-back in the last minutes and he did it very well. He is good on the ball, he is quick and he dares to play in front of this crowd."