COMMENT: The Spain international was in stunning form
and made a string of fine saves to thwart Liverpool on Sunday, but can
the Red Devils continue to be so reliant on him?
Fragile, lightweight and devoid of confidence, David de Gea's formative year at Manchester United offered little to suggest that he could evolve into a No.1 with a stature so imposing he could even rival Peter Schmeichel. The Great Dane has long been the benchmark for Old Trafford goalkeepers and, at last, United have a keeper not just filling his void, but stepping out of his shadow, too.
Louis van Gaal's side picked up their sixth consecutive win on Sunday, dispatching an injury and confidence hit Liverpool side who still seem to be reeling from both their recent Champions League exit and last season’s so-near-yet-so-far title challenge. The 3-0 scoreline might suggest a degree of control, but once again the Red Devils were indebted to De Gea.
The Spaniard was comfortably his side's best player on the day, his personal duel with the profligate Raheem Sterling ultimately determining the victor at Old Trafford. Just before Robin van Persie rolled the ball into an unmanned net for United's third goal, Liverpool had had seven shots on target compared to three for the hosts. But for De Gea, it would have been a rather more even contest.
That has been the story of United's winning run, a curious contrast between a leaky back-line totally dependant on their keeper and a ruthless attack. In fact, they have conceded 29 shots on target in their last six matches but managed just 24 of their own, while only against Crystal Palace and Hull City have they managed more efforts on target than their opponents.
Over this period, De Gea's save percentage stands at a whopping 88 per cent and he has conceded just three times. While opponents have careered into an immovable Spanish wall, enduring just a 10% shots-on-target-to-goals conversion rate, United's frontline have netted from 52% of their efforts on goal. Therein lies the story of their recent resurgence: impossibly unbreachable at one end with an abundance of firepower and clutch finishing at the other.
Against Liverpool, that was once again true. A mere 25 seconds after Sterling had been thwarted by the feet of De Gea, United had taken the lead with a calm, precision finish from skipper Wayne Rooney. That passage of play could scarcely have summed up United's recent performances more neatly.
More saves followed, with Sterling thwarted twice more in the first half, and when Mario Balotelli was brought on in the second period he too was forced into a seemingly unwinnable tete-a-tete with the former Atletico Madrid keeper. The 24-year-old batted away the Italian striker's low shot, narrowing the angle intelligently, before producing an outrageous reflex save to push another Balotelli effort onto the crossbar soon after.
The best goalkeepers can get inside the head of the striker bearing down on them, and De Gea seems to have reached a point in his career where he exudes such an impressive and formidable aura that opponents have already missed before they have even taken their shot. When he first moved to England he looked small and weak, but with every passing game he gets bigger and more intimidating.
"Today was probably the best [performance] I've seen at Old Trafford from a United goalkeeper," remarked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Sky Sports afterwards. "He was the difference," gushed Jamie Carragher. Van Persie, too, was in awe of his team-mate: "He was absolutely brilliant, as he always is."
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