Spaniard Juan Mata has found life very difficult under Jose Mourinho this season, despite being Chelsea’s top man in the last two seasons. He has been acrimoniously dropped from the team which has irked the midfielder a lot, particularly as he was an automatic starter before Mourinho’s arrival.

However, his sudden axing has not demoralized the 25-year old who has kept a calm head and has worked hard to earn his place back. He was given his chance and he made it count in Chelsea’s previous game against Tottenham, as his free kick was turned in by captain John Terry to earn the Blues a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane and he had a goal disllowed.

His performances over the weekend were enough to convince Mourinho, who finally decided to start the play maker in their UEFA Champions League clash against Bucharest on Tuesday night. Mourinho did not regret his decision as Mata put in yet another inspiring performance as he helped Chelsea to a 4-0 romp over their rivals.

Mata revealed that though he was over the moon to finally start a game, he will stay level headed and focused to maintain his game in the coming matches. Sky Sports report him as saying, “I have just kept going.”

“I have trained well and been getting ready for every game. That’s it.

“Today I really enjoyed playing – it is important for us to play with the ball. I was happy with the way I played.”

He also spoke about the importance of the win and what it meant for the team, especially after that shock opening day defeat against Basel. He continued,  “After the first game against Basel, which was a painful defeat for us, we needed to win.”

“The team played really well. We were very solid and we have three points and are ready to win again and be first in the group.”

He will now be hoping that he succeeds in sustaining this level of performance which will help him in cementing a place in the starting 11 under Mourinho.