Saïd Benrahma secured a 1-0 victory for West Ham in the 27th minute. Perhaps out of necessity, he fired the ball into the goal beyond the penalty area, but de Gea did not stop the not-so-sharp shot. “Manchester was down to one in five players, maybe the situation was underestimated. The whole thing was building up, De Gea slipped, backed up strangely, it was difficult to bounce back thoroughly from such an attitude,” assessed former United player Karel Poborský in the CANAL+ Sport studio.
“It’s a huge mistake. He will take full responsibility for it. His left leg slipped slightly, but that’s no excuse. He can reach the ball with his whole palm, it’s not like he’s reaching out and hitting with his fingertips. He completely misses the ball and it’s a big, big mistake from him,” former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand commented to BT Sport.
Former Liverpool, Tottenham and Stoke striker Peter Crouch also did not take napkins. “David de Gea can’t stand up properly, backs up, backs up and then can’t get forward. This is inexcusable, a terrible mistake,” he pointed out clearly. “The question is whether he is good enough to accept the way of coach Erik ten Hag. Is he a good enough footballer to play for Manchester United? Only Ten Hag can answer that,” he added Ferdinand.
The newly minted record holder among all goalkeepers in the history of United in the number of starts did not make the first similar miss in the season. In the Premier League, Manchester have conceded four goals after his obvious errors, the joint-highest of any goalkeeper in the competition with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris. And then we have errors in the FA Cup with Everton or in the Europa League against Sevilla.
“There’s no need to focus on that mistake. He has already saved us so many times,” midfielder Bruno Fernandes defended his goalkeeper. “Mistakes are part of football. He has the most clean sheets this season, everyone is responsible, we play a team sport,” said Ten Hag. “In football sometimes things go your way and today was one of them,” West Ham captain Declan Rice commented on the situation.
For United, the loss of points is another complication in the fight for the elite four and thus a ticket to the Champions League. The Red Devils are just one point ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, but they also have a game in hand. For West Ham, on the other hand, it is a key three points in the fight for survival, before Monday’s play-offs, the Hammers have a lead of seven points on the relegation positions, with three duels remaining before the end of the competition.
“Our best home performance of the season. When you play against United, the whole world is watching. You put on the jersey, you go to the field and you want to prove your dream. We succeeded, I’m excited,” said Rice, who traditionally cooperated with Tomáš Souček in the midfield.
The Czech midfielder’s good organization of the game and confidence in aerial battles helped to a great extent to the clean sheet. He even scored a goal in the 73rd minute when he headed the ball against the post. However, due to a clear offside, the enthusiasm in the stadium quickly waned.
Photo: Ian Walton, CTK/AP
Tomáš Souček from West Ham being treated during the match with Manchester United.
An unpleasant moment then occurred five minutes later. Souček collided with Aaron Wan-Bissaka with his head during a defensive tackle, the United defender fell on the Czech midfielder. Both actors of the fight were bleeding, the Czech representative had to be stitched up by doctors from a laceration on his head.
Even that didn’t stop West Ham, and the Londoners got into a great mood for Thursday’s opening semi-final of the Conference League with the Dutch Alkmaar. “It will be a big game for the whole club. Football is about trophies that everyone wants to win. It would be a huge success for us,” Rice gushed.
