Man United faced into an unknown on Tuesday night as, after months of speculation, they finally lined out for a game without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in charge. Despite the changeover in management, they were still frail at the back - and they had goalkeeper David de Gea to thank for staying in the game at Villarreal.
Ultimately, Man United came out 1-0 winners, but it's unlikely they would have been in the game at all if it weren't for the heroics of their Spanish goalkeeper.
David de Gea put in another mega shift in Spain on Tuesday night
It was a weirdly emotional week for Manchester United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked at last after a shocking run of form. The outpouring of love and affection for Solskjaer in the aftermath of his sacking was quite the change in tune after months of calls for his dismissal from fans and pundits alike.
The show must go on, though, and Michael Carrick took charge of Man United's trip to Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night. There were widespread questions over whether Carrick should even have stayed on at the club, given he was one of Solskjaer's key coaches during his time in charge of the club and was at least partly responsible for Man United's dire form.
The classic symptoms of their poor performance this season were still plain to see in the opening stages in Villarreal, as The Yellow Submarine pinned back Man United's back four and ran rings around their defence - and David de Gea was once again United's rock at the last line.
Goalkeeper de Gea has appeared rejuvenated this year and, even in Saturday's embarrassing defeat to Watford, still made a penalty save in the first-half. He again was in stellar form on Tuesday night, making two big saves in the first-half to keep Villarreal at bay.
It was his second-half save from Manu Trigueros, however, that truly showed his class - and kept Man United in the game. With Trigueros lined up perfectly for a volley on the edge of the area, Villarreal looked destined to take the lead against United for the third game in a row - but de Gea got down to his right and made an outstanding save to keep the game at 0-0.
𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗮 👏🇪🇸
What a save to keep United level against Villarreal!#VILMUN #UCL pic.twitter.com/bt8JcRfh6n— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) November 23, 2021
It would prove to be a crucial save, as the momentum soon shifted to Man United. The introduction of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford mere moments after David de Gea's save brought with it an increase in tempo from United, and they didn't look back.
Soon, Cristiano Ronaldo scored yet again in the Champions League to put Man United ahead, before Jadon Sancho's first goal for the club sealed a 2-0 win late on.
That's a fairly tidy finish from Jadon Sancho #VILMUN
| Watch every #UCL game for free on the @LiveScoreIE app here: https://t.co/asGxlTfSUJ. Registered ROI users only. #ad pic.twitter.com/K15tGoKh1s— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 23, 2021
The scoreline may have suggested that the win was comfortable for Man United, but without the heroics of their goalkeeper David de Gea, it would once again have been a close run thing against Villarreal on Tuesday night.
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