Erik ten Hag insisted on extending David De Gea’s contract with Manchester United on the night the goalkeeper’s gaffe cost them at the London Stadium.
De Gea’s gaffe in the 27th minute, when Said Benrahma’s hopeful 20-yard shot slipped past him, has reduced United’s lead over Liverpool to a single point.
De Gea, who earns £375,000 per week, has been negotiating a new contract for some time. According to reports, he must accept a pay cut in order to stay at United, and his error on Sunday night prompted discussion among supporters about whether a new goalkeeper is required instead.
Ten Hag stated, “We want him to stay and we want him to extend his contract.” ‘He has the highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League. Without him, we would not be in this position.
‘I don’t think there are any concerns. It occurs. You have to deal with it as a team, show character, be resilient, and bounce back, and that is exactly what this team will do.
‘We started well, we dictated the game, we created chances, we didn’t take them, and then one mistake. In three days, we have lost two games due to individual errors.’
Ten Hag was referring to Luke Shaw’s handball in United’s 1-0 loss at Brighton. ‘It’s not about Liverpool,’ Ten Hag said of the race for Champions League football, with Liverpool trailing United. It’s all about us. Everything is in our hands.’
Erik ten Hag has stated his desire for David De Gea to be extended by Manchester United
This victory put West Ham in a position of relative safety in the Premier League. ‘It makes it much more difficult for the other teams to catch us,’ David Moyes said. ‘They’ll have a difficult time getting the points.’
‘It’s massive,’ said Captain Declan Rice. We were looking forward to winning in front of our home fans. That was our best home performance this season – front foot, aggressive, one v one, on the ball – everything was positive.
‘As a participant, the entire world is watching. You put on the shirt, go out there, and you want to do it for me and the lads. You’re taking on Manchester United. You wanted to do it, and we did it, so I’m ecstatic.
‘As players, we can’t help but look around. It was important to win this one, to put some distance between ourselves and the bottom. You still require 40 in math. We have our (Europa Conference League) semi-final on Thursday, followed by a trip to Brentford.’
The BT Sport analysts seized on De Gea’s error, with Peter Crouch commenting that it was “a shocker.” We can’t make it prettier. De Gea cannot get on the front foot based on his current position. This is a terrible error.
Rio Ferdinand, a former United defender, continued, “No, you can’t (excuse the error). It’s a terrible error, and I believe he will accept full responsibility.
Although his left foot does err slightly, it is still unacceptable. He has full contact with the ball and a full hand on it; and he is not stretching and only has finger tips on the ball.
He completely misses it, and it’s a huge error.
