Paul Merson says David de Gea has been “bailing” Manchester United out of poor results this season and that the club have been “getting away with it” of late.
Erik ten Hag could only watch as his side were undone 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, branding his players “unprofessional” after the match. After a balanced first-half, United conceded six second-half goals to be subjected to their heaviest defeat in 92 years.
The shock result came after losing just one game since November and a week after lifting the Carabao Cup at Wembley. De Gea became United’s all-time clean sheets keeper during the 2-0 win over Newcastle in the final and has made a number of important stops this season, including in the opening five minutes against the Magpies.
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Casemiro has been outstanding for United this campaign, as has top scorer Marcus Rashford, who has 25 goals to his name. Both netted the goals in the cup final but were as abject as their teammates on Merseyside over the weekend.
Merson believes that the performances of De Gea have proved just as vital to their overall success this season, telling Sky Sports: “Man United have been getting away with it and have been caught [vs Liverpool].
“Leicester should have been 2-0 up against them a few weeks back – they win 3-0 and it papers over the cracks. Newcastle have a great chance in the Carabao Cup final in the first five minutes, they score that and it’s a different game.
“One of United’s best players has been David de Gea. He’s bailing them out. I haven’t bought into this ‘Man United are in the title race’ ever – not ever. They are nowhere near.
“What I saw [against Liverpool] was embarrassing at the highest level. This is their biggest game of the season. Chelsea played so badly at Spurs last week – the biggest game of their season – but it was never going to be 7-0.”
Merson detailed his horror at United’s capitulation and their perceived reduced effort as the game ticked on. “It was scary,” he added. “They were never in the Premier League title race in a million years. 7-0 is so embarrassing.
“There are no excuses. I don’t care if you have two players sent off, you shouldn’t get beaten by seven with that quality of players. They downed tools. They gave up.
"I hate saying that but it was a complete and utter mess. The name of the game is to make sure this doesn’t undo everything – it’s about how quickly you bounce back. Good teams bounce back.”
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