De Gea's dreadful day puts United future in spotlight

Spaniard's latest blunders raise fresh doubts over his Old Trafford career

LONDON－Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted David De Gea's place is not guaranteed after the goalkeeper endured another error-strewn display in Manchester United's FA Cup semifinal defeat to Chelsea.

Chelsea will face London rival Arsenal in the final on Aug 1 thanks to a pair of embarrassing blunders from De Gea in United's 3-1 loss at Wembley on Sunday.

De Gea's first mistake came in the 11th minute of first-half stoppage time. Olivier Giroud's close-range deft touch from Cesar Azpilicueta's cross was pushed into the United goal by De Gea.

United, which was rocked by Eric Bailly being hospitalized with a first-half head injury, returned to the field early for the start of the second half but was just as sloppy.

Diving to his left, De Gea let Mason Mount's long-range strike go through his gloves. There was shared United culpability for the 46th-minute goal after Brandon Williams gave the ball away around the halfway line with a misplaced pass that Mount seized on.

"David knows he should have saved the second goal but that's done now," United manager Solskjaer said. "It's hard for a keeper to make amends, apart from David making two or three fantastic saves after.

"But you see Brandon ... probably feels a bit responsible and then the rest of the half he was absolutely outstanding."

Harry Maguire's own goal was also partly down to De Gea's slow reactions as United lost for the first time in 20 games in all competitions despite Bruno Fernandes' late penalty.

"He knows he should save that 100 times out of 100 but that's football for you," Solskjaer said.

"I can't speak for David De Gea's confidence but he is mentally very strong. I made the decision to play him and mentally he was ready for it."

Asked if De Gea would be replaced by Sergio Romero when United return to action against West Ham in Wednesday's crucial Premier League clash, Solskjaer would not rule out dropping his star.

"Obviously, everyone has to perform. Everyone has a chance every time we perform to stake a claim in the team," he said.

"It's hard for a keeper to make amends. David showed his character in the rest of the game with a few good saves."

De Gea's future at United is coming under intense scrutiny, especially given the fine form of Dean Henderson during his loan spell at Sheffield United this season.

Solskjaer has already labeled Henderson a future England No 1 and it would be no surprise if he is recalled to Old Trafford to challenge De Gea for the keeper's jersey next season.

Sunday's errors were just the latest in a catalog of De Gea errors this season. The 29-year-old's mistakes led to goals against Watford and Everton before the season was shut down due the coronavirus pandemic, and then against Tottenham and Bournemouth after the restart.

With three years remaining on De Gea's contract, United has a quandary over the future of one of its highest-paid players who was once considered one of the world's top goalkeepers.

While the spotlight was on De Gea, Chelsea was by far the better team as the Londoners reached the FA Cup final for the first time since they last lifted the trophy in 2018.

United had beaten Chelsea three times this season, but Blues boss Frank Lampard had the last laugh.

"To win a semi is a great thing, but to win a final is the thing," Lampard said.

"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves but we can certainly enjoy the performance and the result.

"It is obviously right up there because of the size of the game and quality of the opponent."

United, which started with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial on the bench, looked out of sync after switching to a back-three formation and Solskjaer said: "You always question your decisions. Chelsea had an extra 48 hours rest, that's just a fact but it's no excuse.

"We lost concentration and that was disappointing. We were a little too late in some situations and the second goal was very avoidable."

Chelsea and United will be hoping to secure Champions League spots in the upcoming final week of the Premier League season.

Fifth-place United remains only behind Leicester City on goal difference and has a game in hand against West Ham on Wednesday before playing Leicester on Sunday.

Chelsea is a point ahead of Leicester going into Wednesday's game at newly crowned champion Liverpool and Sunday's finale against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Agence France-Presse