Scholes goes against the grain by praising Man Utd star
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes says that despite David de Gea’s poor form the Spanish goalkeeper will “be back”.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side saw an impressive 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to a crashing end at an empty Wembley on Sunday, when Chelsea deservedly secured a 3-1 semi-final triumph.
Meek Man Utd put in an uncharacteristically disjointed display under the arch, where Olivier Giroud all too easily beat Victor Lindelof to turn home a cross deep in first-half stoppage time.
FEATURE: Top ten most surprising player declines since 2018
De Gea did not cover himself in glory for the opener and was guilty of a shocker within a minute of the second half as Mason Mount’s long-range strike somehow beat him.
United captain Harry Maguire’s own goal summed up a difficult day for the Red Devils who can now concentrate on their fight for a top-four finish.
De Gea has come under fire since the match but Scholes thinks Man Utd still have plenty to thank the Spain international for.
“Yep, he’s having a bad time,” Scholes said on his Instagram story.”But without him Utd wouldn’t have finished in the top 10 the last 6 yrs…he’ll be back!”
Paul Ince was one pundit and former Man Utd player to criticise De Gea over his “absolutely horrendous mistakes”.
“Any mistake you make, as a goalkeeper, will always be magnified,” Ince told Paddy Power.
“We know that, but what we’re seeing from David de Gea at the minute are basic, schoolboy errors. They are errors that someone on his wage and at his level simply should not be making – and not for the first time, too.
“If you go and look at the season, there’s several absolutely horrendous mistakes that just shouldn’t be happening. When you make mistakes like that, you have to come out in the next couple of games and stand up and be counted – to nullify that criticism – but it seems like he isn’t capable of doing that at the moment.
“You need to prove you’re the number one goalkeeper. He made a couple of decent saves yesterday against Chelsea, but the fact is, in big games you expect that. In those big games, the best keepers in the world aren’t making mistakes to begin with.”
