After Sunday’s comeback win against Everton at Goodison Park, Manchester United duo David de Gea and Cristiano earned a place in Garth Croosk’ team of the week.
These two players have been subject to criticism this season, so it’s great to see them silence their critics for a few days at least – but we hope it continues into our next matches.
Manchester United host Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday night before Newcastle come to Old Trafford at the weekend.
While De Gea didn’t manage to keep a clean sheet, it was arguably his best performance between the posts this season. The Spaniard came off his line to rescue United and made several clutch saves at the end to prevent an Everton equaliser.
Writing for BBC Sport, Crooks waxed lyrical about De Gea, saying: “He could do nothing about the strike by Everton’s Alex Iwobi, but having been beaten by the Nigeria midfielder he wasn’t going to allow a similar effort to beat him again.
“The save from James Garner in the dying seconds didn’t just keep the ball out of the net but also prevented Amadou Onana heading it in. It has been some time since United came back from a goal down away from home and went on to win a match. Then again, when you’ve got De Gea in goal he will, on average, save you ten points a season – and in a good season even more.”
Ronaldo made the headlines with his 700th club goal and, like De Gea, it was one of his better performances under Ten Hag. The 37-year-old replaced Anthony Martial in the first half before having a devastating effect on the Toffees to win the game.
On Ronaldo, Crooks added: “The finish by Cristiano Ronaldo was as crisp as I’ve seen from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“It was as if the moment he was put through there was no doubt he would score. If Casemiro can come to terms with the pace of the Premier League, especially in the big games, then he might prove to be a valuable asset for United – but more importantly for Ronaldo.”
BBC Sport Premier League team of the week
De Gea; Koulibaly, Dawson, Cancelo; Foden, Guimaraes, Kouyate, Almiron; Saka, Ronaldo, Havertz.
Both de gea and Ronaldo deserve to be among the epl player s of the week