Pranav Nair
Manchester United star David de Gea ignored key advice during Europa League final penalty shootout
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea appears to be drawing heat for his performance in the Europa League final.
The Spaniard was the only player to miss from the spot as United bowed out in a penalty shootout. Not only did De Gea miss his but he also failed to save a single Villarreal spot-kick.
According to the report, De Gea dismissed some crucial piece of intel that may have helped him make a difference.
The Spaniard talked to goalkeeping coaches Richard Hartis and Craig Mawson ahead of the shootout and was given a note to place inside his towel. The note contained intel as to which way each Villarreal player would go.
While he largely followed the orders, he made one crucial error during Moi Gomez’s turn. Instructed to stay in the centre, the Spaniard chose to go with his gut and dived left. He was left helpless as the penalty eventually went in down the middle.
Had he stayed put, there is every chance he would have saved the kick, This would have given Fred the opportunity to clinch the trophy for United.
De Gea returned to the plan against Raul Albiol, who actually went the other way, while his move to second-guess Francis Coquelin proved rather less telling.
The 20-year-old once again ignored his notes when up against Pau Torres. To his credit, he almost got his hand to the effort. Unfortunately, it was not to be and he has now failed to save a spot-kick since 2016.
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While De Gea should have followed instructions, he is hardly responsible for United’s loss. If anything, he appears to be made the scapegoat for the whole fiasco.
There were players who failed to turn up on the night while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer too spectacularly failed in his man-management. It is fair to say that De Gea appears to be set up to become the fall guy.
