Manchester United were completely outclassed by Brentford on the road on Saturday as they suffered a shocking 4-0 Premier League defeat.
They conceded all four goals within the 35th minute of the game, and two of those were contributed by a couple of horror moments from David de Gea.
The Spaniard had a superb 2021/22 season for United where he hardly put a foot wrong. He won several games singlehandedly with splendid saves.
However, this season has started off in a poor fashion for him. Against Brighton & Hove Albion, he could have done better to avoid both goals conceded.
The 31-year-old was hesitant to come forward to collect the ball in the lead-up to Brighton’s first goal before his fumbled a shot which led to their second.
It seemed a one-off at that time, but against Brentford, the Spaniard was back to his old habits between 2018 and 2020 where he made high-profile blunders.
De Gea committed an absolute howler for the opening goal as he fumbled a simple grab into his hands.
The Spaniard assisted Brentford’s second with another poor piece of decision-making. Christian Eriksen was caught in possession in the box with the high press.
De Gea had the option to go long or pass to either centre-back, but made the choice to distribute to Eriksen despite Mathias Jensen lurking to pounce on possession.
Following the game, De Gea admitted that he was responsible for the defeat, but serious questions are bound to be raised over his adaptability under Erik ten Hag.
From the first two games, we have already seen De Gea’s reluctance to make claims while he has also struggled with his distribution as well as his shot-stopping.
De Gea’s strong reflexes between the sticks have been key to his stellar career at United, but recent performances don’t exhibit much confidence going forward.
It has been suggested that United are still eyeing a couple of midfielders, a forward and a right-back, but Ten Hag may now want the club to sign a new keeper to compete.
United are already running out of time to bolster their squad this summer, and De Gea has handed a fresh dilemma to the manager with his dismal start to the season.
With Dean Henderson loaned out, the Spaniard began the campaign as an undisputed starter, but United may now contemplate the prospect of signing a genuine competitor.
It has been recently reported that a budget has been assigned for a number two, and the progress of finding one could speed up after De Gea’s horrific outing in goal.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
