De Gea's top 10 Champions League outings

10. United 1 Young Boys 0 (27 November 2018)

For 70 minutes of United’s eminently forgettable group-stage meeting with Young Boys at Old Trafford three seasons ago, the only threats to De Gea’s clean sheet were the lull of sleep and a shanked near-post cross from Jean-Pierre Nsame which required fielding. Nevertheless, he was highly alert when Young Boys mustered their first shot on target with 20 minutes remaining. A half-cleared corner was returned from 20 yards by Ulisses Garcia, via deflections off Chris Smalling’s knee and Kevin Mbabu’s back, rerouting the shot from De Gea’s left to his right. As the ball bounced towards the line, four visiting players had their arms aloft in celebration. Somehow, De Gea readjusted, scuttled and plunged in one fluid motion, clawing the ball off the line. Marouane Fellaini later took the points in injury-time but, as then manager Jose Mourinho rightly pointed out: “Without David’s save, there would be no winning goal. He’s the best in the world.”

9. United 0 Juventus 1 (23 October 2018)

After Paulo Dybala struck the game’s only goal, firing past an exposed De Gea from close range when a deflected cross caught out United’s backline, it was the work of United’s no.1 which kept the beleaguered Reds in with a shout of snatching a share of the spoils. The Spaniard parried away three menacing first-half efforts – a crisp Joao Cancelo half-volley, a dipping Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick and Blaise Matuidi’s smashed rebound – but reserved his best stop of the lot for his second-half shift at the Scoreboard End. Six minutes after the break, the visitors embarked on a lightning counter which culminated in Juan Cuadrado squaring for the onrushing Ronaldo on the 18-yard line. The Portuguese struck a ludicrously venomous effort towards the top corner but looked on aghast as De Gea flung himself to his left and, at full-stretch, managed to flick the ball over. Rapturous applause followed from the stands, while Ronaldo shook his head in disbelief.

8. United 1 Galatasaray 0 (19 September 2012)

Though time swiftly consigned United’s group-stage victory over Galatasaray to the ‘hard-fought win’ section of the history books, there’s no avoiding the fact that the Reds were battered by Fatih Terim’s team for long periods. Michael Carrick’s calmly taken strike settled the outcome, with the Reds even allowed the cushion of a missed penalty from Nani, but only errant finishing, fine margins and a crucial double save from David made this a game that could be buried without post-mortem. The Spaniard watched on as the visitors thrice hit the woodwork through Hamit Altintop (twice) and Selcuk Inan, before springing into decisive action with 18 minutes left. United were caught on the break, with Burak Yilmaz released into the area. De Gea fended out the Turkey striker’s bludgeoned effort, then quickly reset himself for Emre Colak’s rebound, which was arrowing towards the top-left corner until the Spaniard flicked it over in magnificent fashion.

7. United 2 Benfica 0 (31 October 2017)

David haunted Benfica’s Diogo Goncalves on Halloween 2017, with our Spanish keeper flawless throughout. While the evening’s defining events centred on the ups and downs of Benfica stopper Mile Svilar – who took two Champions League records in half an hour as the youngest player to save a penalty and score an own goal – De Gea’s battle with Portuguese winger Goncalves provided a key subplot. Moments after Svilar’s penalty save from Anthony Martial, De Gea hurled himself high to his left to fend away a corner-bound screamer from Goncalves. After the break, David plummeted to his right to flick away another shot from the winger, making light work of a deflection off Eric Bailly. As Daley Blind established a 2-0 lead with a successful penalty, De Gea ensured victory by preserving his clean sheet with a sharp catch from Eduardo Salvio’s point-blank header two minutes from time.

6. CSKA Moscow 1 United 4 (27 September 2017)

United’s group-stage romp in Moscow could have been an altogether trickier evening’s work without a fine shift from the man between the sticks. While Romelu Lukaku’s brace sandwiched an Anthony Martial penalty to establish a three-goal interval lead, De Gea was in unbeatable form at the other end, pulling off a hat-trick of key saves at crucial times. The first was perhaps the best; a split-second drop and reach to his right to tip Alan Dzagoev’s powerful effort around the post in the sixth minute, with the Reds 1-0 up. Dzagoev was then thwarted from long-range with a sharp gather following Martial’s penalty, before Fedor Chalov prompted a superb tip-over from the United no.1 with the score at 3-0. Having repelled the hosts single-handedly, David’s night was soured a touch at the very end, when Konstantin Kuchaev fired in a close-range effort to quash a well-deserved clean sheet.

5. United 3 Olympiacos 0 (19 March 2014)

On a night when Robin van Persie’s tie-swinging hat-trick overturned a two-goal first-leg defeat in Greece, the importance of David’s incredible contribution cannot be overstated. Olympiacos had twice contrived to pass up presentable openings with the game goalless and then, after van Persie had provided hope with his 25th-minute penalty, De Gea kept it alive with five minutes of the first period remaining. Having contorted to shin away David Fuster’s powerful six-yard header, David seemed helpless as the ball rebounded to Alejandro Dominguez, five yards out. Instead, the grounded stopper almost breakdanced across his line to kick the Argentinian’s powerful effort behind for a corner, prompting a joyous roar from the Stretford End. Five minutes later van Persie levelled the aggregate score and he overturned it soon afterwards, before De Gea confirmed a historic comeback win by beating away a deflected Dominguez cross to seal a priceless clean sheet.

4. United 2 Villarreal 1 (29 September 2021)

Last time out in the Champions League, David’s enduring excellence was showcased perfectly in a Man of the Match display against Villarreal. Only one man was responsible for the interval arriving with the score 0-0, as De Gea produced four key stops in a one-way first period. He started routinely, punching away Arnaut Danjuma’s wasteful finish, but soon turned on the style with a staggering tip around the post from the Dutch international’s curling effort, a stunning reaction tip-over from Paco Alcacer’s header and another smart block from Yeremi Pino’s sliding curler. Though Alcacer’s nifty finish did break the deadlock, Alex Telles’s barnstorming leveller teed up a grandstand finish which was decided by Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner, but also hinged on a De Gea double stop from Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia with the game in the balance. “He saved us tonight – we have to be realistic and say that,” admitted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

3. PSG 1 United 2 (20 October 2020)

Strong starts often yield top-class performances, and David can have made few stronger openings than in last season’s thrilling group-stage win in Paris. A world-class pair of stops in the 12th minute set the Spaniard up for a decisive performance on the biggest stage, as first he leapt full-length to tip away Angel Di Maria’s curling effort. Then, from the ensuing corner routine, as Layvin Kurzawa flicked on Kylian Mbappe’s deadly cross, De Gea was able to block the defender’s point-blank effort with his knee and pounce on the loose ball. With those sensational stops in the bag, David then produced an even better one early in the second period, flicking over Mbappe’s rocketed effort before it could nestle in the top corner. Though Anthony Martial’s headed own goal gave the Spaniard no chance and cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’s opener, De Gea blocked a powerful Neymar effort shortly before Marcus Rashford’s dramatic late winner.

2. Sevilla 0 United 0 (21 February 2018)

While the Reds’ 2018 second-round tie with Sevilla ultimately went south, it wasn’t for a lack of effort on the part of De Gea, who took centre stage in Spain. The hosts notched 25 efforts on goal, eight of which hit the target but none found a way past the Reds’ no.1. Luis Muriel was most frequently thwarted by De Gea, starting with a fourth-minute effort from distance which required considered fielding. Joaquin Correa saw a low shot held and Steven Nzonzi had a header acrobatically turned over from close range, but nothing compared to David’s jaw-dropping save from Muriel just before the break, as the unmarked Colombian’s bullet header from six yards was inexplicably pawed over. As the players left for the interval, Muriel showed his admiration with an embrace for the Reds stopper. Back in the BT Sport studio, pundit Frank Lampard stressed: “De Gea almost instils fear in the striker. He’s so good that you think, ‘can I beat this fella?’” That night in Andalusia, nobody could.

1. Real Madrid 1 United 1 (13 February 2013)

In just his second season in the Champions League, David was already making decisive contributions. “David was excellent and produced three or four really top saves,” said Sir Alex Ferguson, after the breakthrough night in De Gea’s Reds career. For the former Atletico Madrid starlet, back in the home of their city rivals, the tone was set with an unbelievable fingertip stop from full-back Fabio Coentrao, whose curling right-footer forced a world-class tip on to the post. The Portuguese defender later hit a back-post half-volley which required an unorthodox toed-away save while, in-between, De Gea repeatedly frustrated Jose Mourinho’s hosts, to the point that, when Sami Khedira’s 20-yard snapshot stuck in the custodian’s grasp, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain simply shrugged in disgust. “He is maturing all the time and he has showed that,” said De Gea’s team-mate Ryan Giggs. “He has come to Madrid with a lot of pressure on him and he has produced the goods.” Season after season, he’s still producing them.

This countdown was originally published in the Atalanta edition of United Review, Manchester United's official matchday programme.

Get your copy at Old Trafford on Wednesday, or order online now.