5 performances that prove De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world

#2 Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool - Premier League

De Gea refused to indulge Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli

"We are now seeing a huge improvement in his game. And he is winning United match after match, which is what I expect from a United goalkeeper. He has now become a great goalkeeper."- Gary Neville in 2014

His description of De Gea was spot on as he was now making ridiculous physics-defying stops week in and week out. Not long after the Everton heroics, he put in a performance of the season against another Merseyside team, Liverpool.

The United-Liverpool match is arguably one of the biggest matches in England, and more often than not, there is a performance or two that decides the result of this fixture either way.

In the encounter of December 2014, De Gea was the one to etch his name into the United folklore as he subdued wave after wave of attack from Liverpool. Raheem Sterling can count himself extremely unlucky that he did not come out the fixture with at least a goal in hand as he came across a De Gea who was determined to stop anything that was thrown his way.

Notably, De Gea stopped many 1v1 shots from Sterling, and Mario Balotelli, as United kept pinging in goals on the other side, even though they seemingly didn't have any right to do so.

On any other day, the performance would have resulted in a Liverpool win but De Gea was the saviour once again, as United capitalised on his 9 saves to come out with all three points and bragging rights in hand.

Van Gaal rightly said that De Gea was the "saving grace" of that United team with "unbelievable" performances that season.