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Football

30th Nov 2016

WATCH: Even in the warm-up, David De Gea didn’t look like like his usually assured self

Not like him

Darragh Murphy

David De Gea doesn’t make many mistakes.

That’s what make any howler from the Manchester United goalkeeper more newsworthy than an error from most shot stoppers.

A consummate perfectionist, De Gea will be beating himself up for days after he allowed West Ham a foothold in the game ten minutes before half-time.

A strike from Dimitri Payet directly at the centre of goal was expected to be swallowed up by De Gea but, uncharacteristically, he spilled it and the ricochet was tapped home by former Manchester United youngster Ashley Fletcher.

It was very un-De Gea but perhaps we should have seen it coming as the Spaniard suggested he didn’t have his usually sticky gloves on when he also failed to deal with a pretty routine shot in the pre-game warm-up.

Over Sky Sports’ Simon Thomas’ right shoulder, one eagle-eyed viewer spotted another mistake from De Gea.

We all have bad days at the office but, luckily for De Gea, he conceded just the one on the night and, knowing him, he’ll pull off the greatest save ever seen at the weekend.

Perhaps then he will convince his critics who seem to have made it their life’s work to question his abilities whenever that rare blunder rears its head.

Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10