Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replied with ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ when quizzed on the decision to keep David de Gea between the sticks ahead of tonight’s clash after the Spaniard’s woes vs Chelsea.
In the 3-1 FA Cup semi-finals defeat to the Blues on Sunday, De Gea was left wanting for Giroud’s opener before making a calamitous blunder to allow Mason Mount to score from long-range.
De Gea’s form has been shaky over the last two seasons, with the stopper’s performances particularly concerning since the Spain international put pen to paper on a lucrative new contract earlier this season.
Solskjaer added that De Gea’s ‘proven’ his ability over the nine years that he’s been with the Red Devils.
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Solskjaer added that De Gea’s dealt with the pressure of being United’s number one for all this time, so the Norwegian is maintaining his faith in the stopper for now.
Whilst it will be great for De Gea to know that the manager’s got his back during a rough patch, this decision could lead to more hate and scrutiny towards the goalkeeper – given that any errors in the side’s remaining two top-flight games could literally cost the side Champions League football.