Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sends message to Man United fans about David De Gea
Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defends David De Gea after his mistake in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea FC
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has leapt to the defence of David De Gea after the Manchester United goalkeeper’s latest error in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea FC.
The Spain international has been out of sorts over the past month or so to raise questions about his lack of confidence in the Manchester United goal.
De Gea made an error in Manchester United’s 3-0 loss to FC Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final earlier this month.
His woes continued when De Gea was criticised for his attempt to keep out both Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane’s goals in a 2-0 loss to Manchester City last week.
De Gea was guilty of another mistake when he could only parry Antonio Rudiger’s routine shot into the path of Marcos Alonso in Manchester United’s home clash against Chelsea FC on Sunday.
His compatriot made no mistake with the rebound to cancel out Juan Mata’s opening goal at Old Trafford.
De Gea has been consistently Manchester United’s best player in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
And his manager Solskjaer has refused to blame De Gea for their struggles in the top-four race over the past couple of months.
“I know David,” Solskjaer told his post-match media conference on Sunday evening.
“You know when you’re a goalkeeper or a striker you’re always in the spotlight, every time you miss a chance, or score you either get a bad or good headline. It’s same with David.
“He’s been in the spotlight for the right reasons for so long, now he’s going through a period where he probably feels he can do better. No, I don’t have worries because he is a strong character.”
Solskjaer, who was appointed as the club’s permanent manager last month, went on to describe De Gea as an “unbelievable goalkeeper”.
Solskjaer told Sky Sports: “There’s no chance that anyone can blame him for losing many points for us. He’s been unbelievable. Yes, he knows he could have had that shot, but that’s football again.
“I think David is one that likes to play games, of course I’ll have chats with him this week and I’m sure he’ll respond in the right way.”
De Gea moved to Manchester United in a £17m deal from Atletico Madrid in the 2011 summer transfer window.
