da poker： The Spain international has been a great servant for the Red Devils, but is now in danger of being remembered for his costly errors instead of saves
da marjack bet： David de Gea made history for Manchester United when he lined up against West Ham on May 7, 2023, overtaking Alex Stepney as the goalkeeper with the most appearances for the club (540). He also broke Peter Schmeichel's clean sheet record after shutting out Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, helping United end their six-year wait for major silverware.
That was the second League Cup winners' medal of De Gea's career at Old Trafford, but he has only won three other trophies since joining the club from Atletico Madrid way back in 2011 – including just one Premier League title. It's no coincidence that the Spaniard has served between the sticks during United's leanest period of the modern era.
De Gea's reflexes are second to none, and his shot-stopping abilities have won plenty of matches for the Red Devils over the years – but that contribution is outweighed by his regular moments of madness. The 32-year-old's latest inexplicable mistake against the Hammers left Erik ten Hag's side sweating on a return to the Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and even Sir Alex Ferguson also saw De Gea cost United in the biggest matches time and time again. It has now got to the point that a compilation of his most baffling blunders would run longer than one showing off his best saves.
As United reportedly continue to work on tying De Gea down to another new contract, GOAL has selected the 10 worst errors of his Old Trafford career to date…
GettyMan Utd 2-2 Benfica (Champions League, 2011-12)
United spent £19 million to bring in De Gea from Atletico as he was drafted in to replace legendary keeper Edwin van der Sar ahead of the 2011-12 season. It was to be a testing debut year in English football for De Gea as the Red Devils failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2004-05.
De Gea found himself under the spotlight after high-profile gaffes against Manchester City in the Community Shield final and West Brom in the league, but his lowest point came on Europe's biggest stage. Benfica arrived at Old Trafford in November for a crucial Champions League clash that United needed to win in order to put one foot in the last 16.
The hosts were on course for the three points when Darren Fletcher scored just before the hour mark, but United's 2-1 lead barely lasted a minute. The decisive moment of the game came after a Phil Jones back-pass, which should have been dealt with easily by De Gea.
However, in one of the earliest examples of the 'keeper's lack of technical ability with the ball at his feet, he mishit a first-time clearance and the ball fell straight to Bruno Cesar on the edge of the box. The Benfica attacker then burst into the area before firing a powerful low cross that deflected off Rio Ferdinand straight into the path of Pablo Aimar, who volleyed into an empty net.
Ferguson could only watch on in disbelief as United were then held to a 2-2 draw. His misery was compounded when his side lost their final group game at Basel to exit the competition – with questions also asked of De Gea in that contest after his failure to keep out Marco Streller's opening goal.
AdvertisementGettyMan Utd 2-1 Sunderland (League Cup, 2013-14)
United's first season following the departure of Ferguson was a complete disaster, as Moyes lasted just 10 months in the hot seat after being chosen to succeed the legendary boss. There were plenty of humiliating performances along the way, including in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final tie against Sunderland.
The Black Cats had a 2-1 aggregate lead to protect when they arrived at Old Trafford, but Jonny Evans levelled the tie when he turned home a flick from Danny Welbeck in the 37th minute. That proved to be the only goal in the first 90 minutes, but extra time brought great drama.
With penalties looming, former United defender Phil Bardsley received the ball some 20 yards from goal and let fly. Bardsley's shot was weak and straight at De Gea, but he failed to get his body behind the ball and ended up palming it into the net.
De Gea's blushes were spared momentarily thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser from Javier Hernandez, but United went on to lose 2-1 on penalties. This would certainly not be the last time that De Gea's handling let him down.
GettyBournemouth 2-1 Man Utd (Premier League, 2015-16)
Van Gaal appeared to be overseeing a serious title challenge heading towards the mid-way point of his second season in charge at United. However, the wheels came off after a surprise loss at Bournemouth that saw Junior Stanislas completely embarrass De Gea.
The winger whipped in a corner from the left with just two minutes on the clock at the Vitality Stadium, and managed to put plenty of speed and height on the ball. But it really should have been a simple task for the United No.1 to pluck the ball out of the air.
As it was, De Gea got his positioning all wrong and it flew over his head before nestling in the far corner. He started back peddling way too late and by the time he'd thrown out an arm to try and keep the ball out, it was already beyond him.
United went on to lose the game 2-1, which marked the beginning of a shocking three-match losing streak that also included reversals against Norwich and Stoke City. Their chances of winning the Premier League were dashed as a result, and it all started with De Gea's glaring weaknesses being laid bare.
GettyMan Utd 2-2 Arsenal (Premier League, 2018-19)
Mourinho went one better than Van Gaal by entering into a third campaign still at the helm of United, but his side were getting progressively worse by the time Arsenal rocked up at Old Trafford in December. The first goal of the game came via an unlikely source, as Shkodran Mustafi was presented with a free header in the box.
The German nodded the ball into the ground and it bounced up kindly for De Gea, who was all set to make an easy catch. But for some reason, he palmed the ball up and it snuck over the line, despite Ander Hererra's best attempts to clear.
United equalised through Anthony Martial before a Marcos Rojo own goal gave Arsenal the lead again in the second half. Again, De Gea might have done better, despite being wrong-footed by the deflection on Alexandre Lacazette's initial shot.
Jesse Lingard had the final say to ensure that the spoils were shared, but United slipped to eighth in the table after the error-strewn display, and Mourinho was dismissed a couple of weeks later.