Why was David De Gea checking his towel during Man Utd's penalty shootout against Brighton?

David De Gea was spotted checking his towel between penalties during Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton, leaving fans questioning what he was up to.

Manchester United progressed to the final on Sunday afternoon, winning in the most dramatic of circumstances at Wembley.

Penalties were required after a nail-biting 120 minutes couldn't separate the two sides.

Solly March became the villain, blazing his penalty over the bar before Victor Lindelof sealed victory with a smartly taken spot-kick.

Erik ten Hag will face local rivals Manchester City in a mouth-watering final, after Pep Guardiola's side booked their place on Saturday, beating Sheffield United 3-0.

However, there was a fascinating subplot involving De Gea within the shootout which caught the eye of spectators.

What was he looking at?

The eagle eyed could spot a hidden piece of paper inside inside Dea Gea's towel, which the 32-year-old looked to be studying prior to each penalty.

While it is not certain what De Gea was reading during the shootout, history would suggest it was notes on Brighton's penalty takers.

The 32-year-old did something similar in 2021, when United lost 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final, according to Sky Sports journalist Angelo Mangiante.

On that occasion, he was unable to get a hand to any penalties, but the Spaniard will take all the plaudits this time round, following an excellent performance between the sticks at Wembley.

When quizzed on his penalty tactics after the game, De Gea explained: “We prepared the penalties as always, I tried to put pressure on each of their takers. Our team took perfect penalties so we are delighted we are in the final.

“It is a long way until the final but it will be a big game against one of the best teams in the world. But we have shown that we can beat them. There is a lot of time before then, so we must finish in top four first before giving everything to the final," he added.