Despite losing 3-2 on Thursday against a game AS Roma side, Manchester United are in the final of the Europa League. The Red Devils will now face Unai Emery’s Villarreal on May 26 set to be played in Gdańsk, Poland.
On Thursday, Manchester United faced a motivated AS Roma side. Paulo Fonseca’s men looked determined to make one more iconic European comeback. Though, the game eventually ended, with Manchester United winning the tie 8-5 on aggregate despite tasting defeat on the night.
A victory away from home would have been better, but a loss will hopefully act as more motivation for this team to go on and win the trophy. Things could have turned out very differently for AS Roma though, if not for one man.
On a night like this where Manchester United kept losing possession, there was David de Gea in goal to pull off one incredible save after the other. The Serie A giants created a lot of chances and things could have become very interesting if not for the Spaniard standing between the posts.
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The AS Roma game showed why Manchester United should keep hold of David de Gea beyond this season
Over the entirety of the game, AS Roma were able to produce 22 shots, 12 of which were on target (as per Fbref.com). They might have scored 3 goals but they could have easily scored more and made things interesting but it was the brilliance of De Gea which prevented that from happening.
The Spanish goalkeeper made an incredible 10 saves on the night and looked back to his very best. And if that is indeed the case, Solskjaer has a big decision on his hands regarding the first-team gloves.
De Gea’s Manchester United contract runs till the summer of 2023 and he has been linked with an Old Trafford exit recently after Henderson has moved ahead of him in the pecking order. But if he continues to perform as he did against AS Roma in the second leg, he could very well become the Red Devils’ first choice goalkeeper once again.
This is a very tricky situation for Manchester United. We know on top of his game, De Gea is one of the, if not the, best goalkeepers in the world. And at 30 years of age, he should have a lot of top level football left in him. On the other hand, Henderson, who is 24 years of age, is a very promising prospect and is doing well as the starter over the past few months.
Neither of them would be happy with sitting on the bench though and as a result, the club might have to make a tough choice pretty soon regarding their goalkeeping situation.