David de Gea put in a man-of-the-match performance for Manchester United against PSG in midweek.
He made one particularly outstanding save from Kylian Mbappe, and worked hard to keep the Frenchman off the scoresheet, along with efforts from Di Maria, Neymar, and Kurzawa.
The only way PSG were able to score past him was thanks to a freakish own goal.
United’s defence deserves credit too. Strong work from a makeshift backline ensured De Gea was needed as little as possible.
The saves he did make were top class, and followed on from an outstanding save he made away at Newcastle on Saturday.
Deserves credit, but beware
De Gea’s form has been unpicked and scrutinised by pundits over the past year.
He hasn’t helped himself, with high profile errors away at Watford and Everton, and Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
The key to De Gea’s good form could be the new competition from Dean Henderson.
The England goalkeeper has made clear he wants to displace De Gea as United’s number one.
After the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham, it would have been understandable if Solskjaer went with Henderson, just to shake things up.
He didn’t, and stuck with De Gea. The Spaniard has repaid the bosses’ faith.
With no Carabao Cup game until December, it’s tough to see how Henderson gets game time now, unless United can get Champions League qualification wrapped up early.
De Gea deserves credit for the way he has performed, but he won’t get carried away.
The key to success
One of the reasons De Gea was able to bounce back from his errors is his mental strength, and an ability to shut out the noise around him.
After the FA Cup semi-final, pundits around the country were calling for him to be dropped.
United stuck by him, and De Gea performed strongly for the rest of the season.
By the same manner, De Gea will not allow himself to get carried away by his recent success.
He knows as a goalkeeper, that it is his mistakes which will be remembered and create the real controversy.
Any goalkeeper is only one match away from a howler, and if De Gea is not alive to that, he will get caught out.
With Henderson behind him, De Gea knows if his standards fall, he could drop to the bench.
He will be quietly satisfied with his displays, but also wary. He has to continue to work hard to stay at the top of his game.
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