Solskjaer backs De Gea despite goalkeeper's poor form
De Gea has made a number of mistakes in recent games but Solskjaer says the goalkeeper cannot take the blame for the team's struggles.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says David de Gea has the strength of character to rebound from a slew of mistakes in recent weeks and has no intention of dropping the goalkeeper for the final two games of the season.
The Spaniard’s latest error came in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea. United had gone ahead through Juan Mata but Chelsea equalised when De Gea weakly parried Antonio Rudiger’s effort into the path of Marcos Alonso, who tucked the ball in.
De Gea has made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes in recent games but Solskjaer says the goalkeeper cannot take the blame for the team’s struggles.
“I don’t have any worries about him, because he’s a strong character,” Solskjaer told British media. “He knows he could have had that shot, but that’s football.”
The result leaves United sixth in the league on 65 points and dented their hopes of securing a top-four finish. They sit three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with two games left.
“With David, he’s been in the spotlight for right reasons for so long and now he’s going through a period where he feels he could have done better,” Solskjaer added.
“But there’s no chance any of us will point fingers because he’s saved us so many times. I’ll speak to David, as I’ve done when he’s played well... he’s not the reason we’re sixth.”
United’s last two games of the season are against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City.