Manchester United had a throwback performance tonight, and not in a good way. Goalkeeper David de Gea saved the Red Devils literally, figuratively and just about any other manner that one could imagine in a goalless draw at Sevilla that was very reminiscent of the Louis van Gaal era.
United went to Spain for the road leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie and obtained a 0-0 result that would have been a complete disaster had it not been for De Gea shining brightly in his native country. Sevilla outshot United 25-6 tonight, putting eight on target against United’s one.
Of the eight saves that De Gea made, this one, off a header from Luis Muriel, stood out from the rest:
No other keeper in the world saves this. The shock on Correa’s face when he sees De Gea saved it says everything here. pic.twitter.com/xfQ4cPz9AU
— The Man Utd Way (@TheManUtdWay) February 21, 2018
After the match, De Gea was extremely modest about it.
“It was at the last minute of the first half, it was an important moment of the game,” the United #1 said in an interview with BT Sport.
“I made a save, I’m happy for that.”
Wow! “made a save” is like saying a Ferrari “is a car.” United looked like the team of the Van Gaal era- leaky central defense, badly lacking in attack, content to play defensive and get bailed out by De Gea to settle for a lesser result. Red Devils supporters have to be very nervy how heading into the home leg on March 13.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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