Watford 2-0 Manchester United: David De Gea blunder helps last-place Hornets to shock win (VIDEO)
Goalkeeper David De Gea had a moment to forget as Manchester United crashed to their fifth Premier League defeat of the season against bottom-of-the-table side Watford on Sunday.
De Gea, who had already come in for criticism after conceding a soft goal in United's 1-1 draw with Everton in midweek, endured a nightmare afternoon as United crashed to a 2-0 awayday defeat to pile more pressure on increasingly beleaguered boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Spanish stopper made a complete mess of a routine save as a weakly-hit shot from Watford's Ismaila Sarr, which squirmed through the goalkeeper's hands before hitting him in the face and dropping into the net five minutes into the second half.
Kepa this, kepa that. Come on come and collect your goalkeeper.De Gea Is ThE bEsT pic.twitter.com/c8wi9mv01L
— El Rondo 🇬🇭 (@PassTheBall___) December 22, 2019
Things went from bad to worse just four minutes later as Sarr was fouled in the penalty area by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Watford striker Troy Deeney made no mistake from the spot as he sent De Gea the wrong way and slammed his penalty kick into the net to put the Hornets out of reach at 2-0.
Troy Deeney on the pressure🗣"Real pressure is watching my mum work 3 jobs trying to make ends meet for Christmas. This is football." pic.twitter.com/yY4mSBekCV
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 22, 2019
Things had previously looked positive for United following notable wins against Tottenham Hotspur and crosstown rivals Manchester City earlier in the month. But the level of the Red Devils' performances has dropped alarmingly since as pressure begins to mount on boss Solskjaer.
"It was a mistake, it happens in football and it is what we train for every day to make sure they don't happen again. David has been very good lately. It is just one of those things that happen," said Solskjaer after the game.
"We started the game slow. The first half was very, very poor from both sides, it was too slow, like a testimonial. You have to earn every point on the pitch and today we didn't deserve that."
The result leaves United in eighth place in the Premier League with 25 points from their 18 games played. That tally means United sit a colossal 24 points behind league leaders Liverpool, and seven points shy of the UEFA Champions League qualification places.
"We have to be better against these so-called lower opposition sides who have a deep block," said United captain Harry Maguire.
"We were sloppy and gave the ball away numerous times. We were not good enough and we have to improve. It is something we cannot put our finger on."
