Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea marked joining the illustrious group of players to make 500 appearances for the Reds with a clean sheet.
Prior to our 0-0 draw with Newcastle United, the Old Trafford crowd gave an overwhelming reception to our no.1 as he was presented with an award for reaching the milestone.
The man to hand him his honour was none other than Sir Alex Ferguson, who signed the Spaniard from Atletico Madrid back in 2011.
“It was the right person to give me the award,”
said De Gea, on what was a landmark occasion for him and United.
“He brought me to the club, he trusted me and believed in myself so it was great to be there at Old Trafford, a full Old Trafford with Sir Alex and it was a great moment.”
On marking the achievement with his 170th clean sheet for the Reds, he said: “[I'm] so, so happy.
“[I'm] proud to reach 500 games, especially with a clean sheet. [It] could be better if we score one goal, but the feeling is great.”
On shutting out the Magpies, David added: “I think it’s massive, Newcastle have been playing really good football, scoring goals, so to keep a clean sheet today is big for us.
“If you cannot win the game then keep a clean sheet and at least we have one point, but I think if we want to finish in the top places in the table we have to win those games.”
In the first half there was a scare, as Joelinton headed on to the bar and then his rebound crashed against the post, with David relieved to see the ball stay out.
“That was crazy, as soon as I saw the first hit the bar and the ball going to him again I said ‘it must be a goal’ and then it hits the post.
“This is football, sometimes the ball likes to come in sometimes not and I think we deserved a bit more than them. We created more bigger chances than them and the team gave totally everything today.”
With fixtures against Tottenham and Chelsea coming next, our stopper is already turning his attention to what is ahead.
“Massive, massive week,”
De Gea said. “We have two big games let’s start our recovery tomorrow and everyone has to recover well, go again on Wednesday.
“Big game, Tottenham of course is a great game, but we play at home. We have to give our best and try to score goals.”