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Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has heaped praise on goalkeeper David de Gea. Rangnick's words came in the aftermath of the Red Devils' 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Monday night.
De Gea was once again brilliant for Manchester United, making some excellent saves to keep a clean sheet. The Spaniard's performance took Rangnick's side through to the next round of the domestic cup competition despite a largely mediocre overall display from the team.
Speaking after the game, the German tactician was quoted as saying by the Metro:
"We have to develop the team into a clean sheet team and that was another one today but still David de Gea was outstanding again for me today."
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Rangnick went on to add:
"I would have wanted him to have less saves in total, I think we had four or five shots on goal but again we can still improve even in that area."
This was the second time in succession where de Gea was kept busy by a visiting team at Old Trafford. He made some fantastic saves last week to keep Wolverhampton Wanderers at bay for much of the game. However, some slack defending in the end saw Manchester United concede late and lose the Premier League game 1-0.
Against Aston Villa, de Gea received a little more support but still had to make a few second-half stops to keep his side's lead intact. The 31-year-old has arguably been the Red Devils' best player this season.
While he has kept only three clean sheets in six matches since Rangnick's arrival, it has largely been due to his side's ailing defense. De Gea himself has been excellent, often bailing his team out of trouble.
Manchester United face tricky run of fixtures
After the win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup, Manchester United will face Steven Gerrard's team once again, this time in the Premier League on Saturday (January 15). The journey to Villa Park is bound to be even more difficult and Rangnick now knows just how good their upcoming opponents are.
The Red Devils will then travel to Brentford before hosting West Ham United on January 19 and 22 respectively. This will be followed by a trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley (February 8), rounding off a tricky run of league fixtures. In between, the club will also take on Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on 5 February.
With their form still proving to be inconsistent under Rangnick, there's cause for concern at Old Trafford ahead of these fixtures. Dropping points in any of their upcoming Premier League encounters could see the Red Devils lose more ground on their rivals in the race for a top-four finish.
