De Gea reacts to 'stressful' win over Norwich

Saturday 16 April 2022 19:09

David De Gea is delighted that Manchester United enjoyed a successful day in the race for fourth place in the Premier League, but our in-form goalkeeper states we must improve in the remaining six games.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the midday kick-off before Arsenal lost to Southampton, also 1-0, at the same time as the Reds recorded a 3-2 win over Norwich City. 

The results have provided a major boost to United and Old Trafford was buzzing at full-time, having witnessed another Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, but De Gea has high standards and he is demanding better performances during the run-in. 

“Until the last second it was very stressful,” said David in our interview. 

“We were 2-0 up against Norwich so we cannot lose the control of the game. But we started giving chances away and they scored at the end of the first half, which is always tough. 

“We need to control more of the game and especially at home against Norwich. But it was a great game, we fought to the end, it's good experience for the team and three great goals from Cristiano.”
De Gea demands more of the same Video

De Gea demands more of the same

David is delighted with the win but isn't getting carried away: he states we must kick on from here...

Referencing the shock defeats for our rivals, De Gea continued: “This is the Premier League, it is not easy, every game is tough. You can see today against Norwich, they are bottom of the league, but they fight and nearly get points here.

“It is good for us that they [Arsenal and Spurs] dropped points but we have to keep improving, focus on ourselves and keep winning games until the last one.”

United raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to a Ronaldo brace, but the Reds were disappointingly pegged back to 2-2 following Norwich goals either side of the half-time break. 

Thankfully, the team stuck together and found a winning goal via the right boot of Ronaldo, who lashed in a free-kick to earn his second hat-trick of the season. 

“It is unbelievable, his career is there, it's crazy, he's still making hat-tricks, scoring goals, helping the team,” said De Gea. “He's a legend and one of the best players in history. It's great when he's scoring goals, it's great for the team and it's great for everyone.”
While Ronaldo was clearly the hero, De Gea deserves great praise for the stunning save that he made to deny Milot Rashica when the score was level and he admits it was a key moment. 

“It was a tough one, a very difficult one,” said David with a smile. “As soon as he made the shot, I thought 'hmm maybe I will not get it' and I put my legs and my arm out. And I made the save so it was good at this point in the game. 

“We kept trying until the end with the fans, who were once again amazing, and then a great goal by Cristiano from the free-kick. It's a massive three points, we are still there, fighting for the top four, but for sure we need to keep improving because it's not enough if we keep playing like this.”
Highlights: United v Norwich Video

Highlights: United v Norwich

Watch all the goals, and a great De Gea save, after an Easter Saturday thriller at Old Trafford...

United’s attention now turns to Tuesday’s huge game against Liverpool at Anfield and De Gea is always excited to take on the club’s historic rivals. 

“It is going to be a tough game for sure, it's always special to play against Liverpool, even away, and it's great to be there and play. Let's see. We will go there and hopefully today will give us confidence to play well, try to win the game and hopefully bring the points back to Manchester.”

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