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De Gea’s error is part of football – Philosophical Ten Hag

“It’s part of football. You have a lot in your head but football is a game of mistakes,” United boss Erik ten Hag told reporters.

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A howler by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea gifted West Ham United three vital points in their battle against relegation as the hosts secured a 1-0 win on Sunday.

Manchester United are fourth on 63 points after 34 games, one ahead of Liverpool and with a game in hand over the Merseysiders, while West Ham are 15th on 37 points, seven above the drop zone in the English Premier League

Visiting forwards Marcus Rashford and Antony hit the post in the first half but De Gea’s error will capture the headlines as it reopened the chase for Champions League places.

Said Benrahma’s bouncing shot from distance looked to be no real threat but although Spaniard De Gea dived and got a hand to it, he failed to keep the ball out as West Ham took the lead.

“It’s part of football. You have a lot in your head but football is a game of mistakes,” United boss Erik ten Hag told reporters.

“There’s a team, you have to bounce back and deal with the effect. You can also say in front of goal we weren’t clinical enough.”

The goal knocked the wind out of United’s sails and they were lucky not to concede a penalty when Victor Lindelof moved his arm into the path of a ball from Benrahma.

VAR decided not to recommend a spot kick as the first half came to a close.

De Gea redeemed himself somewhat early in the second half with a superb reaction save to deny Tomas Soucek.

But he looked shaky again as Soucek found the net with a header in the 73rd minute, only to see the effort chalked off for offside.

With United striker Wout Weghorst ineffective, Anthony Martial added a much-needed focal point for their attack when he came off the bench in the 57th minute.

Rashford forced a quick reaction stop from Lukasz Fabianski and Martial also had an effort saved as United increased the pressure, with Martial also flashing a stoppage-time header across the face of the goal.

Despite 10 minutes of stoppage time, United could not score and they slumped to a second league defeat in a row after losing at Brighton & Hove Albion by the same scoreline on Thursday.

West Ham captain Declan Rice was well aware of the significance of the result in terms of his side’s battle to stay in the Premier League.

“The points it puts us on now put a nice gap between us and the teams at the bottom.

“There are still three (games) to go, but the significance of the three points is massive,” he told reporters.

“I think that’s our best performance at home this season. Front foot, aggressive one against one, on the ball, everything today was a real positive performance,” he added.

Hammers boss David Moyes praised his side’s “huge character” but cautioned that they were not out of the woods just yet.

“The number isn’t confirmed that it keeps you in the Premier League, so we have to look forward to the next game and try and pick up more points,” he told reporters.

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De Gea speaks on looming FA showdown with City

We showed at home we can beat them (Manchester City). So, let’s hope.

Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion in a thrilling penalty kicks shootout after their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday finished 0-0 after extra time.

Their victory has now set up the first all-Manchester clash in the final.

Solly March, Brighton’s seventh player to step up to the spot in the shootout, launched the ball over the bar.

Victor Lindelof then found the net to secure a 7-6 shootout victory for Manchester United.

“It felt great,” Lindelof said later. “It was a great relief and we’re glad to be in the final.

“I have confidence in myself and I knew which penalty kick I wanted to take and that’s what I did.”

The nail-biting finale was a fitting ending after 120 goalless minutes of wild swings in a game that careened from end to end all night.

The quality of the penalty kicks in a torrential downpour was superb with Manchester United finding the net with all seven of their kicks.

Brighton’s first six efforts were equally impressive until March fired wildly off target.

“They were great penalty kicks,” Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea said. “I was prepared as always. I tried to put pressure on the takers.

“There’s still a long way to the final but it will be a big game against one of the best teams in Europe and the world.”

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United, 12-times FA Cup winners, are chasing a Cup double after winning the League Cup in February.

Treble-chasing Manchester City await in the final after they beat Sheffield United 3-0 in their semi-final clash on Saturday.

“We showed at home we can beat them (Manchester City). So, let’s hope,” De Gea said.

Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-1 in the English Premier League (EPL) at Old Trafford on Jan. 14.

“We are on the right track. One trophy, another final and fighting for the top four. It’s not enough, but it’s a big step from last season.”

Sunday’s semi-final was a rematch of the 1983 final, when Brighton lost to Manchester United in the south coast side’s only appearance in the showcase game.

It had fans on the edge of their seats at Wembley with numerous chances for both sides to break the deadlock, including several in extra time.

Marcus Rashford’s deflected shot in the extra period was pushed wide by Brighton’s diving goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, and then he fired a long shot that sailed just wide.

Kaoru Mitoma nearly won it for Brighton late in extra time, but collided with De Gea in the box.

“It was a very tight game. We played against a very good team,” De Gea said.

“Brighton play really good football. We are now in the final but we have another big game on Thursday (against Tottenham in the Premier League). So, we need to go home and recover.”

The loss ended Brighton’s superb run and ended The Seagulls’ hopes of clinching a first-ever major trophy.

The FA Cup final is on June 3 at Wembley Stadium.

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Keeper Rulli is hero as Villa humble Man U in Europa final

Several times, he ensured his hands touch the enemy’s ball coming from the penalty spot.

Yet, he could not achieve the ultimate.

As a result, the first 10 spot kicks hit the net, some in ways very painful to him as he almost stopped them.

His determination and elasticity however eventually paid off when he stopped the 11th kick, interestingly by his fellow goalkeeper of the rival club.

This is the story of Geronimo Rulli, young and vibrant keeper of Villareal, the Spanish team that just emerged winners of the 2021 Europa League, defeating hard-fighting Manchester United 11-10.

The game played on Wednesday night had ended 1-1- at full time, with the extra time not producing any goal.
All the players who took the first five penalties for each side were so astute that the balls kissed the nets one after the other.

The same continued to happen until the two keepers too decided to try their penalty-playing prowess.
Why Rulli pounded in his own slot, Dvid De Gea’s could not hit the destination as Rulli stretched the extra mile to stop it.

This was the irony that decided not just the match but the hotly contested tournament, though the first two goals respectfully by Villa’s (first half) and Edinson Cavani (United) had come relatively earlier.

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‘Strong’ De Gea under no extra pressure from Man United – Solskjaer

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is mentally strong enough to overcome his errors in their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Chelsea and the club will not put additional pressure on the Spaniard, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Tuesday.

De Gea, 29, was at fault for Olivier Giroud’s opener in the first half on Sunday and allowed Mason Mount’s shot to squirm through him and into the net after the restart as United lost 3-1 to crash out of the competition.

The mistakes have prompted calls for De Gea to be dropped.

But Solskjaer said United, who are chasing a top four Premier League finish to seal European qualification, had to focus on Wednesday’s clash against West Ham United.

“This isn’t going to become a De Gea press conference, we’re just going to stick together.

“David is mentally strong enough to know his job is to perform in training and be ready for games,” Solskjaer told reporters.

“We’ve had setbacks as a club, we’ve lost big games before and turned it round and put a big performance on.

“That is what we have to do now … we’re not going to talk about individuals because no one here will feel we put more pressure on them.”

United, who are fifth in the table with 62 points, can go three points ahead of fourth-placed Leicester City before the two teams meet in the final game of the season on Sunday.

But Solskjaer expects a tough test against West Ham under former United boss David Moyes, with the London club looking to win three games in a row.

“David’s a fantastic manager and I know it’s going to be a difficult game, they’ve had some fantastic wins against Norwich, Watford, Chelsea and they’ve secured their place, he’s doing a fantastic job,” Solskjaer added.

“If we can get through unbeaten that’s the Champions League next year, all eyes are on West Ham, we know their threats.”

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De Gea should save Chelsea’s second goal 100 times out of 100 – Solskjaer

Manchester United’s David de Gea should save Chelsea’s second goal “100 times out of 100,” according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after errors by the hapless goalkeeper saw his side suffer a 3-1 defeat in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

The Spaniard was at fault for Chelsea’s opener by Olivier Giroud in first-half stoppage time and then compounded that error by inexplicably allowing Mason Mount’s shot to squirm through him and into the net early in the second half.

It continued a worrying downturn in form for De Gea but Solskjaer backed his first-choice keeper.

“I can’t speak for David de Gea’s confidence but he is mentally very strong,” Solskjaer said. “He knows he should save that one 100 times out of 100 but that’s football for you.”

Second-choice Sergio Romero had been United’s keeper in every round of the FA Cup so far this season but Solskjaer opted to switch it for the Wembley clash.
“I made the decision to play him (De Gea) and mentally he was ready for it,” added the Norwegian.

Solskjaer also surprisingly left Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood on the bench and his team never really got going against a Chelsea side who could have won by more.

In defence of his team selection, Solskjaer’s team face a crucial week in the Premier League as they try to nail down a top-four place and a return to the Champions League.

“There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have two games this week and then the Europa League. We will get our heads ready and our legs ready and go again,” he said.

“They (Pogba and Martial) have played a lot of football so it’s just about freshening up the team but also about giving them the chance to make a difference when they come on.”

Solskjaer had some reassuring news about their Ivorian defender Eric Bailly, who was carried off after a first-half clash of heads with team mate Harry Maguire — an incident Solskjaer said distracted his players.

“He is hopefully fine, he had a cut on his head but hopefully he will be fine,” he said.

To compound United’s misery Maguire scored an own goal before Bruno Fernandes converted a late consolation penalty against Chelsea, who will face Arsenal in the final.

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De Gea donates £175k to flood victims in Spain

Man United goalkeeper, David de Gea, has donated £175,000 to flood victims in Spain after a storm claimed seven lives.

Confirming the donation, the Spanish Red Cross thanked the Spanish international for his generosity.

Alicante and Murcia were parts of Spain that suffered the storm the most as heavy rains flooded the areas displacing many people.

Sharing on social media with De Gea’s picture, the Red Cross said: “€200,000 to support the people affected by the flooding in Alicante and Murcia.

De Gea

“David de Gea, thanks for your solidarity.”

The storm also disrupted travellers as airports were temporarily shut down.

ALSO READ: De Gea renews bond with Man United

David had few days ago signed a new deal with the club which will last till until 2023 after spending eight seasons at Old Trafford since he was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011.

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De Gea renews bond with Man United

David De Gea has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United and vowed to help them win trophies again.

The Spain goalkeeper had entered the final 12 months of his previous deal, but he will now remain in Old Trafford until 2023.

De Gea, who signed from Atletico Madrid for £18.3 million in 2011, is now one of the highest paid goalkeepers in the world on reported £375,000-a-week.

Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have all been monitoring De Gea’s future in recent months.

Telling the clubs’s website, he said his future is fixed and wants to to help United achieve and win trophies again together as a senior player in the squad.

ALSO READ: Manchester United eyes another top class should David de Gea exit this summer

“It has been a privilege to spend eight years at this great club and the opportunity to continue my career at Manchester United is a genuine honour.

De Gea

“Since I arrived here, I could never have imagined I would play over 350 games for this club. Now my future is fixed, all I want is to help this team achieve what I believe we can and win trophies again, together”

“As one of the senior players in the squad, I want to support and lead in any way that I can to assist the younger players, so they know what it means to play here. I still feel that I have so much more to achieve at the club and I truly believe that Manchester United can build on the club’s tradition of success and reward our fans for their support,” he said.

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Manchester United eyes another top class should David de Gea exit this summer

Samuel Oladipupo Essoodee

De dea

With only 15 months left on David de Gea’s current contract with united, The Spaniard wants his wages matched with Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, who is on around £400,000-a-week.

However, it is understood that United are not to be open to De Gea’s demands, throwing the Spaniard’s future at the club into speculation.

His current situation has forced the Red Devils’ administration to put in place a contingency plan in the event.

De Oblak has now reportedly been identified as a potential replacement for De Gea, according to footballespana.com.

Oblak recently penned new terms with the club, extending his contract until 2023 with a high relhttps://phenomenal.com.ng/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=13939&type=image&TB_iframe=1ease clause inserted in the new deal.

The Slovenian is however said to be open to a potential move to the Premier League, and now Old Trafford seem his likely destination.

The 26-year old has kept an astonishing 115 clean sheets in 203 appearances.