Man United goalie David de Gea takes blame for 4-0 loss to Brentford

Manchester United doubled down on their dismal start to the season with a 4-0 humiliation from Brentford at their home. After the match, the Premier League side’s goalkeeper David de Gea sought an interview, where the Spaniard took responsibility for the result. 

“I cost three points to my team today and it was a poor performance from myself. It was a horrible day”, he told Shamoon Hafez of BBC Sport. 

The first goal de Gea conceded came 10 minutes into the match when he let the ball through his hands and into the corner of the net. United conceded all goals in the first half and Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo was seen visibly fuming on the ground.

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He seemed to be gesturing to de Gea and then to his other teammates, signalling that all they needed was one goal to get back into the game. However, the Brentford goalkeeper managed to keep a clean sheet as the pressure grows on United to perform in their next fixture against Liverpool on August 23. 

Coach Erik ten Hag was none too pleased with the performance either, saying “This is not the way I want to play, this is not the way I want to deliver”. He added, “We have to demand different, higher standards.” 

After the match, he labelled the team’s performance as “very poor”, stating that one has to be ready when they start the game and United weren’t. Expressing his disappointment, ten Hag conceded that there might have been individual errors, but football is a team sport, and it falls upon all players to turn the game around. 

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With some new signings bolstering the midfield and defence, United looked much more confident in their preseason games, but are yet to find a footing in the PL season. ten Hag has also put in a request for more quality players, and it remains to be seen if the Old Trafford side makes new purchases before the transfer window closes, and how it impacts the overall team performance for the rest of the season.