David de Gea’s penalty save at the weekend was both a big surprise and overdue.
It was De Gea’s first penalty stop since 2016 and his first in the Premier League since 2014.
The goalkeeper saved Mark Noble’s injury time penalty to secure Manchester United a 2-1 victory away at the Hammers.
It was particularly satisfying for De Gea as his poor penalty record came under the spotlight after United’s Europa League final defeat to Villarreal, in which he conceded 11.
Reaction to De Gea penalty save
The on-pitch reaction to De Gea’s penalty save spoke volumes. United’s players and the bench ran over to celebrate with him at the final whistle.
This including manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who showed how happy he was with the goalkeeper’s save.
There was plenty of reaction online to De Gea’s heroics, from teammates past and present.
Notably there was also praise from one of the players who haunted him in Gdansk.
Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno left a complimentary message in response to De Gea on his Instagram page.
Moreno was one of the Villarreal players who scored his penalty past De Gea back in May, and netted their first half goal.
He will go back up against De Gea next week when United host Villarreal at Old Trafford in the Champions League.
The pair know each other from the Spain international set up and Moreno would have seen first-hand in the summer how devastated De Gea was by his end to last season.
That makes the way De Gea has bounced back to start this season even more remarkable, and he deserves all the plaudits coming his way.
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