Manchester United Wins on Penalties, ten Hag Praises de Gea as High as the Sky

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag praised David de Gea’s performance when Manchester United won on penalties from Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semifinals, Sunday (23/4/2023).

The two teams drew 0-0 in normal time until extra time, which forced the match to go to penalty shootout. In the high-five round, De Gea failed to save a single kick. However, ten Hag considered that de Gea appeared extraordinary in normal time, by making several saves from Brighton’s attacks.

“I think he made two brilliant saves and know he is a world class keeper,” said Ten Hag after the game.

“Thursday, he had a really bad day and it hurts. Today the players deserve credit and credit because they bounced back, they showed character,” added the Dutchman.

Previously, de Gea was indeed made a scapegoat for the defeat of the Red Devils to Sevilla in the European League competition. MU lost 0-3 after de Gea made a fatal blunder which resulted in his team being stopped in the quarter-finals.

“When you are in goal and you make mistakes, a lot of times you are punished. As a team, we let him down too,” said the former Ajax Amsterdam coach.

In the final round, MU will be challenged by their neighbors, Manchester City. This is the first time the Manchester derby has been presented in the FA Cup final.

Ten Hag hopes United will appear spartan, as shown when they beat City 2-1 in January. According to ten Hag, this victory is proof that his troops can beat a team like City, which currently still has the chance to score a treble.

“We have proof that we can beat them, but for sure we have to play a perfect game,” said ten Hag.

“Winning the derby (January) was the most perfect game we played this season, and we have to do it again. But first, we have to focus on the other games, because we have the target of getting into the top four and qualifying for the Champions League next season.”

Currently, Manchester United is in fourth place in the 2022/2023 Premier League standings. They are 6 points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur who are in fifth place with a score of 53 points. The next match, MU will visit Tottenham Hotspur headquarters, Thursday (27/4/2023) or Friday morning WIB.