Man Utd vs Man City: Gary Neville left ‘shook’ by David de Gea’s latest howler as his ‘feet are letting him down’
United goalkeeper was at fault for Manchester City’s second goal in the latest of a long line of mistakes this season
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Your support makes all the difference.David de Gea’s feet “are letting him down” following his latest goalkeeper gaffe in Manchester United’s derby defeat against Manchester City, according to former defender Gary Neville after he admitted to being “shook” at watching his errors in recent weeks.
De Gea took the brunt of the criticism for United’s second goal in their 2-0 defeat against City after letting Leroy Sane’s effort cannon off his foot and beat him at his near post.
It is the latest in a noticeable slump in form for the Spain international that dates back to last summer’s World Cup where his country crashed out in the group stage, and after allowing Lionel Messi’s shot to squirt underneath him during last week’s Champions League defeat by Barcelona, Neville admitted that the 28-year-old has not been up to his usual standards this season.
“The goalkeeper has to do better,” Neville said on Sky Sports after the Old Trafford loss. “David de Gea, he’s been magnificent for Man United for so many years but this season it’s just not happening for him.
“Those feet are letting him down. So many times we’ve seen them kick the ball away. Straight at him, off his shin, into the back of the net.
“I was in the Nou Camp for that mistake for the Messi goal and it was something that shook me, watching David de Gea make a mistake like that.”
United were on course for defeat before De Gea’s mistake after Bernardo Silva’s opener, but while Neville did accept that it was not as bad as his Nou Camp howler, the former United defender stressed that he has not performed up to his normal standards and it will still go down as “a really bad error”.
Neville added: “This one was not as bad but still for him, a really bad error. It’s not happening for him at the moment, he's going through a really bad time, a difficult time.
“He can’t believe it, he’s shaking his head. He’s been a one-man wall for Manchester United for four or five seasons. Sane, he’s probably wanting to go across De Gea. It certainly won’t be where he wanted to put it.”
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