Juan Mata praises Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo

Spanish midfielder Juan Mata believes Roberto Di Matteo is the "perfect" manager for Chelsea as the Blues look to maintain their excellent start to the season. The Premier League leaders face Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday with full confidence after having dropped just two points in the Premier League so far. Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League as caretaker boss last season after Andre Villas-Boas got sacked and was given a two-year contract in June. Di Matteo has guided Chelsea in 34 games, getting 22 wins, 7 draws and just 5 defeats. "I think for us, he's the perfect manager," Spain midfielder Mata said. "Robbie knows the team very well, Robbie knows the club very well as well. He is a legend here. And now, as a manager, he connects very well with the team, in every meeting, in every speech, he goes deep inside every one of us, talking about every game." Mata, aged 24, who joined from Valencia last year, thinks Chelsea have the right mixture of experienced players and talented young prospects. "We have three or four players who are very, very important for us," he said. "They are legends now at the club because of what they did during eight, nine, 10 years. We are now enjoying life with young and with experienced players and I think there is a balance that we have in the dressing room." Manager Di Matteo insists he is not concerned about receiving credit for the club's success since he replaced Andre Villas-Boas. "I'm just happy to be leading this group and working with these players and working for the club that I have in my heart." Before Tuesday's Champions League clash, Shakhtar Donetsk boss Mircea Lucescu believes Chelsea will certainly regret undervaluing former transfer target Willian. The Blues were linked with the 24-year-old Shakhtar Brazilian in January and throughout the summer but he will line up for the Ukrainian side against Di Matteo's team. Lucescu said: "Willian was far away from Chelsea. They didn't even get anywhere near to our requirements, having done nothing to make my promises to Willian come true. Speaking specifically about the amounts, they officially offered the sum for which we had bought him young. I would really like them to highly appreciate his true value tomorrow and realise that they made a big mistake." Here are the odds for the game from Bet365: Shakhtar to win - 13/10 Draw - 5/2 Chelsea to win - 2/1