With over 400 games for the club, David De Gea has built a lot of credit. But an awful error at Wembley hurt Man United and could affect his future.
LONDON — Manchester United do not tend to play their first-choice goalkeeper in the FA Cup. After David De Gea’s performance against Chelsea at Wembley, the jury is now out on whether they did so in this FA Cup semifinal.
De Gea made his first appearance in the competition since the 2018 final, a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in which Eden Hazard scored the only goal of a drab game. This latest meeting of two clubs with a combined 20 FA Cups followed a similarly meandering pattern until a prolonged first-half stoppage-time period following a head injury sustained by United’s Eric Bailly.
The defender was stretchered off, and, with his side having switched from three centre-backs to 4-3-3, Chelsea struck in the 11th added minute, Willian released Cesar Azpilicueta down the right, and the Chelsea captain found Olivier Giroud with a driven cross that the striker met with a deft near-post flick. De Gea had only a moment to react but could only slow the shot as he fell backward, allowing the ball to dribble over the line.
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If there was any doubt the goalkeeper had already become the fall guy, he made sure with a dreadful error moments into the second period. Brandon Williams passed the ball straight to Mason Mount, who charged infield before firing a speculative,20-yard drive that possessed only minimal swerve. De Gea, though, was slow reacting to his left, and the shot went in off his fingertips with embarrassing ease.
United were second-best all over the pitch throughout this game and may well have lost regardless, but De Gea helped give Chelsea the initiative and, in doing so, turned scrutiny upon himself at the end of a week that began with him reaching 400 appearances for the Old Trafford club.
