Juan Mata warns Man U to be 'cautious' in race for Champions League qualification

Spanish midfielder Juan Mata, who scored the winning brace against Liverpool on Sunday, has warned his Manchester United teammates that they still have a long way to go in the Premier League race for Champions League qualification.

Mata fired a superb brace on Sunday as United won 2-1 at Liverpool to move five points clear of their rivals in the battle for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur are both two points further back, but with games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal still to come, Mata says that United must maintain their focus, Sport24 reported.

The Spaniard said that beating Liverpool at Anfield, being lucky to score two nice goals and feeling the fans' gratitude is something he would never forget, but he added that they must be cautious as these are just three points in the race to their goal.

Mata has been slow to earn manager Louis van Gaal's trust and had not started consecutive Premier League games in over two months prior to Sunday's match at Anfield.

But the midfielder would hope that his performance proves a breakthrough, having opened the scoring with a neat 14th-minute finish before doubling his tally in the second half with a spectacular scissors kick, the report added.