MX23RW : Wednesday, December 11 09:57:47| >> :60:1232:1232:

Rafael Benitez: 'Juan Mata was best player at Chelsea'

By , Senior Reporter
Rafa Benitez declares that Juan Mata had been Chelsea's best player over the past two years before departing for Manchester United in January.

Former Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has declared that Juan Mata was the best player at the club.

Mata, who was a mainstay under Benitez at the Blues last season, joined Premier League rivals Manchester United last month for a club-record fee of £37.1m after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho.

"I am not here to talk about Chelsea," Benitez is quoted as saying by Goal.com ahead of Napoli's Europa League tie against Swansea City. "But Juan was their best player in the last two years. That is it. You can see that. But I am not here to analyse what they did."

Benitez's Napoli are currently third in the Serie A table.

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Christian Benteke of Aston Villa celebrates after scoring a goal to level the scores at 1-1 during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on August 21, 2013
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205
> Premier League Full Table


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