David de Gea has praised the ‘spirit’ shown of Manchester United’s players after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Manchester United jumped to third in the Premier League after the win and will stay in that position after Newcastle dropped points against West Ham in the late kick-off.
The Red Devils enjoyed the perfect start versus Palace at Old Trafford when Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot just five minutes into the game. We were well on course for three points after Marcus Rashford doubled our lead after the break.
However, a moment of madness saw Casemiro sent for an early shower in the 70th minute for violent conduct, although it seems harsh that he will miss three games as a result.
Erik ten Hag brought on a number of defenders towards the end, including Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, as United looked to hold onto their lead after being reduced to 10 men and conceding a goal in the aftermath.
You could see that the players were determined to regroup and hang on. Lisandro Martinez’s celebrations towards the end told you how much these three points meant to the players and they deserved it.
After the match, David de Gea reflected on the performance and praised his teammates for showing character. He didn’t hide away from the fact it was a tough ask for everyone involved but they held together.
“It was tough, especially after the red card. I think we controlled the first half well, we scored an early goal, similar in the second half, we started really well, scored a second but after the red, it was really tough,” De Gea told MUTV, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
“We fought until the end and I think the team did really well because they put players in front, good players, and we defend really well. We concede one goal but we won a massive three points today. It’s not easy to lose a big player like Casemiro.
“Then they start to attack and there’s still 15 minutes to go, so I think we showed massive spirit today, great character, the whole team and the players from the bench have been amazing, so that means we’re doing really good things as a team.
“We defended really well, the manager made good changes and we felt solid at the back. We fight a lot as a team.”
It will go down as United’s 13th consecutive win at Old Trafford.
