The early signs seemed to bear out that opinion, particularly when Mata came off the bench in the Community Shield against Leicester City only to himself be replaced in the dying moments by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Mata trudged off with a face like thunder, with coach Silvino Louro doing his best to console the playmaker in the aftermath of a very public snub. While it appeared Mourinho had laid a marker down for what may be in store, the manager later apologized publicly, insisting that it was a necessary evil as the Premier League champions bombarded his side in the air in a bid to fight back from 2-1 down.