De Gea reflects on his stunning display at Sevilla

The Spanish stopper had been busy throughout the opening stages of the first leg of the Reds' first knockout tie in the competition since 2014, but he was required to intensify his efforts as the home side ramped up the pressure in the final minutes of the first half.

 

With seconds remaining until the break, De Gea repelled a pin-point Muriel header with astonishingly quick reflexes, having earlier denied Joaquin Correa and Steven N'Zonzi.

 

De Gea said: "It was a great save but the most important thing is the result. We didn't concede, the result is open, we need to play at home at Old Trafford and hopefully we can win.

 

"They had control of the ball and the best chances. Now we have the chance to play at Old Trafford in front of our fans with everything there. We need to score, we need to win and we need to improve."

Sevilla enjoyed the lion's share of the possession in the opening 45 minutes, but the Spaniards were largely restricted to shots from distance. But as the break approached, their momentum built, not that it fazed De Gea, who headed into the match with five clean sheets in his last seven games in the Champions League.

 

Still, the superhuman stopper recognised the importance of the save from Muriel, which wowed and frustrated a baying crowd at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in equal measure.

 

"It was a good moment and a good save of course, especially because of the moment in the game - the last minute of the first half. It was important we didn't concede a goal. We defended well. I think they had control of the game, but the result is open."

United had chances of their own, through Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford, but had to settle for a creditable goalless draw, ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford in three weeks' time.

 

Jose Mourinho was content with the result, and the defiant brilliance of his no.1. “I think the clean sheets are because of the team and because of David," reflected the Portuguese. "But, we also kept a few clean sheets with Romero in goal, so I think the team, even with a couple of mistakes, defended well and, when we made the mistakes, obviously David was there. And that’s the reason why he is what he is.”

 

The 0-0 draw earned De Gea his 19th clean sheet of the season, and the Reds will hope for more of the same when the sides reconvene in M16, with Sevilla aware that an away goal could greatly increase their chances of progression to the quarter-finals.