David de Gea gave everything he could early on to try and keep Manchester United’s game with Watford scoreless.
De Gea saved two penalties, with the first having to be retaken, a rare feat for him to pull off.
So that will have made United’s defensive collapse even harder for the goalkeeper to take.
De Gea rarely holds back in interviews and he spared nobody with his blunt assessment of the 4-1 loss.
Speaking to BBC Sport, De Gea made comments which were a damning indictment of both his teammates and the Manchester United coaching staff.
Refreshing honesty
Nothing De Gea has said is wrong, and while he is not faultless in his own performances, he is closer to the situation to see it playing out than any fan or pundit.
De Gea’s comments echo the concerns which supporters have pointed out, over a lack of cohesive tactics.
United have only kept two clean sheets this season, a statistic which will be grating on De Gea even more than it is supporters.
While De Gea may not mean to dig out his teammates, they are clearly caught in the line of fire from his comments.
The real target of De Gea’s comments may be United’s coaching staff, who are quite clearly culpable one way or another.
With the talent United have in defence, there is no excuse for such a poor run which dates into the back end of last season too.
The bad results keep on piling up and considering the investment United have made in the defence under Solskjaer, the performances are unacceptable.
Players and staff at United may not appreciate De Gea making his comments in public, but the situation feels too far gone at this point for that to matter; it needed to be said, and it is alarming to hear from him.
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