Varun Pai
David de Gea claims Manchester United need to play better after Watford defeat
Speaking to BBC Sport (h/t Manchester Evening News), David de Gea claimed that Manchester United ‘ought not to play’ this way after the humiliating defeat to Watford.
Watford took all three points on the night after their 4-1 victory over the Red Devils. Goals from Joshua King, Ismaila Sarr, Emmanuel Dennis, and Joao Pedro were enough to put the Old Trafford outfit out of the Top six.
There was no cohesion, and our defence was all over the place in the first half. Harry Maguire getting sent off twenty minutes from time did not do any favours to the backline. Donny van de Beek brought some enthusiasm in the second half, but his goal was the only silver lining.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under huge pressure now going into a crunch UCL game against Villarreal in mid-week. David de Gea claimed after the game that the players were to blame for the performance rather than the manager.
“There’s not much to say – it was embarrassing to see Man United play like we did today. It is not acceptable – the way we were playing and doing things. It is easy to blame the manager or the staff, but sometimes it is the players. We need to show much more than we are doing.”
He goes on to add that the performance was unlike that expected of a club such as Man United. If anything, there is scope to improve and the players now need to take a long hard look in the mirror.
“THIS IS NOT MANCHESTER UNITED OR THE WAY WE OUGHT TO PLAY – IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY MORE THAN THAT. …WE ALWAYS SAY THE SAME THINGS, BUT IT IS THE TRUTH – WE HAVE TO LOOK AT OURSELVES AND SEE WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE.”
The Spaniard, however, did as much as he could on the night. The Hornets were awarded a penalty in the opening minutes, but the United ace saved it. Sarr was asked to retake the spot-kick due to encroachment into the box by the players. But De Gea saved again to get United out of jail.
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This was our fifth defeat out of the last seven league games, and questions need to be asked of everybody. There is a lack of a game plan, and the selection choices are completely out of sorts. The Spanish goalkeeper might be right about the players deserving the blame, but the buck ends with the gaffer.
