Erik ten Hag’s dilemma with David De Gea was summed up in two cup ties in four days last week. The Manchester United goalkeeper contributed more than most to the shock Europa League exit to Sevilla with two calamitous mistakes, but then on Sunday made crucial saves against Brighton & Hove Albion to help earn a place in the FA Cup final against Manchester City (stream live on ESPN+, US only, June 3).
After watching De Gea gift Sevilla two goals in Spain, Ten Hag seemed in no mood to rush to his defence, saying afterwards only that the 32-year-old remains a “very capable goalkeeper.”
He was more talkative at Wembley and while listing the players who had helped win the game, Ten Hag made special mention of the Spaniard.
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“David played a great game, in and out of possession,” he said. “He made some great saves, he’s done that so often this season, great saves. We have the most clean sheets in the Premier League and today was a clean sheet as well.”
De Gea is a good goalkeeper. You don’t play more than 500 times for a club like United if you’re not, but the question since Ten Hag took charge last summer has been; can he thrive in a system that demands he’s as good with his feet as he is with his hands?
On the evidence of Sevilla, the answer is no. His risky pass into Harry Maguire — who was also at fault — led to Youssef En-Nesyri‘s early goal and then he fluffed his touch from a long clearance which gifted the Moroccan striker the chance to score his second of the night into an empty net.
Ten Hag changed the way United played against Brighton, asking De Gea to kick longer up to Anthony Martial. He looked far more comfortable but it meant Brighton had more possession and more control, although in the end it didn’t matter.
Speaking in Perth during United’s preseason tour in Australia just after Ten Hag’s appointment, De Gea bristled when it was put to him that he might not be the best fit for the new manager.
“I used to play like this in the national team for many years, so I’m comfortable to be honest,” he said. “I think I showed it already. If you watch my games with the national team or when we played with Sir Alex [Ferguson] at the beginning, you could see it, I don’t need to show it to anyone.”
