Man Utd keeper De Gea credits 'instinct' for stunning Matip stop

Dom Farrell

Man Utd keeper De Gea credits 'instinct' for stunning Matip stop image

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has attributed his stunning save in Saturday's goalless draw against Liverpool to pure instinct.

The Spain international brilliantly kept out Joel Matip's close-range effort with his foot in the first half to ensure that Jose Mourinho's side left Anfield with a point.

Giroud 7/2 First Goalscorer v Watford

De Gea kept a clean sheet in the same fixture last season by virtue of spectacularly pawing away Philippe Coutinho's curling effort, but would not be drawn on whether he thought the stop from Matip was better.

"I tried to react quickly and sometimes football is so quick," he told Sky Sports. "At the end I put my foot out and I saved the ball.

"It's instinct to react quickly and try to save the ball.

"I don’t know if it's as good as the one from Coutinho last year. Every save is important, especially at Anfield. It feels good."

Manchester United were some distance from their best against the hosts and De Gea admits that Jurgen Klopp's side were the more dominant side.

He added: "We always try to win the game but today I think Liverpool played better than us.

"It's a point away from home so we're happy."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.