De Gea disappointed after late Palace blow
David De Gea felt it was a case of dropped points for Manchester United against Crystal Palace as the Reds let a one-goal lead slip in stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Selhurst Park.
United controlled much of the contest, with a number of opportunities in the first half in particular, and Bruno Fernandes’ 43rd-minute strike had Erik ten Hag’s men in the lead until Michael Olise struck back with a fine free-kick at the death.
While the visitors were dominant, De Gea was made to maintain his concentration with two noteworthy saves to thwart Odsonne Edouard and Marc Guehi in either half, though there was nothing he could do about Olise’s crushing late set-piece.
Speaking to MUTV after the game, the Spaniard admitted that disappointment was in the air of the away dressing room after the Reds had looked set to take all three points.
“Of course, especially because we conceded in the 90th minute,” said our no.1.
“It's tough to take but I think they [Palace] deserved it to be honest.
“In the second half we didn't play well. In the first half, we did play well as we created a lot of chances. We scored a great goal.
“But from the beginning of the second half, we lost the control of the game.
“We gave the ball away a lot of times and we started giving away fouls close to the box, they had their chances and then they scored a great goal. They deserved it but we dropped two points today.'”
De Gea was keen to look ahead, though, pinpointing Sunday’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Premier League leaders Arsenal as a ‘massive’ game.
“Conceding nearly at the last minute, it’s very tough to take, of course,” he added.
“But we have to move on. We have another massive game on Sunday so we have to be very well prepared. We have to recover well, and be ready again.
De Gea: We lost control after half-time
David says the Reds deserved to drop two points, after failing to back up a great first-half performance...
“Every Premier League game is tough, especially away from home. Let’s take the point, let’s recover well, and move on.
“Sometimes you score at the end, sometimes other teams score at the end. That’s football.
“So let’s keep going, I think we’re doing really well, and yeah, it's a massive, massive game on Sunday.”
United sit third at the halfway point of the Premier League season, having now played 19 games, and De Gea is confident he and his team-mates are progressing well under Ten Hag.
“We are competing really well, deserving the points, playing as a team, that’s massive. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to fight for the team, it’s nice to watch.
“It was a bit sad today, because we conceded at the end, but I still believe in this team. I think we have great players and we all want to win, so let’s keep going.”