Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that David de Gea ‘saved’ Manchester United in their Champions League win over Villarreal.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said “Thankfully we had the best goalkeeper in the world tonight. David was fantastic. Second-half, they had more of the ball, was open and they deserved to lead. He had a difficult summer after [the Europa League final], he went to the Euros, didn’t play there but he’s really come back with a determination, a belief and work-rate I enjoy. And in this game he got his deserved outcome, because he saved us. He saved us tonight. We have to be realistic and say that. We’ve got two good keepers in Tom [Heaton] and Dean [Henderson] but today David deserves man of the match.”
De Gea made four saves before Paco Alcacer’s opening goal in the 53rd minute and the Spaniard denied Pervis Estupiñán before Cristiano Ronaldo’s 95th-minute winner. De Gea suffered arguably the lowest ebb of his United career last season when he conceded all 11 penalties he faced in the Europa League final shootout defeat to Villarreal and failed to convert his sudden death kick. Since that setback, De Gea has been in faultless form for United and he played a pivotal role in helping them secure their first points in the Champions League this season.
