Michael Carrick believes Juan Mata has always been an important player for Manchester United after the playmaker 's double helped the Red Devils to a 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday . The little Spaniard has struggled to hold down a first-team place recently but teammate Michael Carrick was not surprised to see his match-winning performance . ‘ Listen , all players have ups and downs throughout their careers , ’ said Carrick . ‘ You can ’ t look past his quality ; that is why he is here and he is here for a reason . He is such a good player and performances like that don ’ t surprise me because performances like that are exactly what he is all about . Juan Mata scores a superb scissor kick during Manchester United 's 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday . Michael Carrick ( right ) insists Juan Mata has always been a valuable player for Manchester United . ‘ He has always been a great player . I think he has always been important to us because he brings so much to the team , and so much ability . ‘ You have seen it all there on Sunday , in terms of what he brings to us and I thought he was terrific . I thought his overall play was good and he obviously scored both goals . I thought the first one was a really good finish and the second one was sensational , so he has had a good day . ‘ He is just so clever , you know . He moves the ball , takes up good positions , he is dangerous and he is just so intelligent . He has such a slight frame so he is not going to have a physical presence but he more than makes up for that with his general ability and how he plays the game . He is just a joy to watch. ’ Carrick was not surprised by Mata 's match-winning performance and thought the Spaniard was 'terrific ' United had Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao among their substitutes at Anfield , and Carrick believes that demonstrates the depth of resources available to Van Gaal . He believes the Dutchman could pick two completely different line-ups capable of competing at the highest level , with little to choose between the players in training games . ‘ I think it tells you about the squad and the strength in depth , ’ said Carrick . ‘ What more can you say ? Listen , those boys ( Di Maria and Falcao ) are top players but I think we have got a number of players that the manager can choose from , which is great . ‘ We see in training when we have games that both teams are pretty equal , when we have 11 versus 11 , because that is the strength of our squad now . A lot of players have had game time this year and that does bring options . ’
Juan Mata scored twice in Manchester United 's 2-1 victory over Liverpool . Michael Carrick says Mata is a joy to watch and was 'terrific ' on Sunday . Midfielder was not shocked by Mata 's match-winning performance . READ : Have Manchester United turned a corner in the Premier League ? CLICK HERE for all the latest Man United news .