Manchester United rode their luck to beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Saturday night.
United survived a penalty being awarded for West Brom, and missing a spot kick ourselves, before Bruno Fernandes netted the winning goal on a re-take.
It was a bad performance from United all round, but three points were all that mattered.
Lost amid the chaos of a hectic 15 minutes after half-time was an outstanding point blank save from David de Gea.
The Spaniard kept the game goalless by saving Conor Townsend’s shot with his foot, and minutes later United were awarded a penalty.
His save was praised by former United goalkeeping legend Alex Stepney.
De Gea was a weak spot at times for United last season. This campaign he is showing signs of being back to his best.
It was encouraging to see him come out off his line and clear a ball into the stands as the game went on. One criticism of him has been that he is too shy to leave the box in those situations.
This was an important clean sheet for De Gea, just his second in the Premier League this season.
He has risen to the challenge of having Dean Henderson behind him, ready to take his place if he takes a step back.
De Gea is showing no signs of being ready to relinquish his place, and his role against West Brom was a crucial one.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared to thank De Gea at the full-time whistle, which said it all.
Reaction
Here is a look at how fans reacted to his performance…
- Manchester United sign Morecambe youngster Jack Kingdon
- Alejandro Garnacho stars in Manchester United under-17 win
- Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford made position changes look easy
- Dylan Levitt’s loan spell is not going too well
- Bruno Fernandes’ value is soaring after another tremendous display
- Marcus Rashford sets Manchester United club record
- Donny van de Beek’s success provides an interesting dilemma for United
- Triple move for Telles, Cavani and Van de Beek looks great business
- Marcos Rojo leads tributes to Diego Maradona after Argentine legend dies aged 60