Ten Hag's De Gea comments come back to haunt him after Maguire's blunder vs Sevilla

Erik ten Hag’s comments ahead of Manchester United’s game against Sevilla have come back to haunt him.

United travelled to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium with the scores delicately poised at 2-2.

However, a mix-up between Harry Maguire and David De Gea gifted Sevilla the opening goal within the first ten minutes of the affair.

Maguire received the ball from De Gea with three Sevilla forwards chasing him down. The England international subsequently lost possession to gift Youssef En-Nesyri the opener.

And while the much-derided Maguire will receive the brunt of the blame, replays proved De Gea’s pass put his captain under unnecessary pressure.

And in the games closing stages De Gea dropped another clanger. The keeper tried trapping the ball under his foot, but completely mistimed his attempt. The ball then fall for En-Nesyri who converted from range into a gaping goal to make it 3-0.

Indeed, the Spanish shot-stopper made the errors just as his manager, Ten Hag, had singled him out for praise.

Ten Hag’s pre-match comments

While De Gea has impressed between the sticks this season, there have been ongoing questions over whether he fits Ten Hag’s preferred style of play.

However, before the Sevilla game, Ten Hag lauded the 32-year-old, insisting he was a “complete goalkeeper”.

Asked what he thinks the best attributes for a goalkeeper are, Ten Hag said via Sky Sports: “Stopping goals! That is the main job from a goalkeeper.

“You can do it in many more ways, everyone has his own particular style.

“Now in possession has become more and more important, especially I think at top levels because you can take control, make it more difficult for an opponent to make pressure, so you concede less chances.

“But, in the end of the day, it’s about stopping goals – stopping shots, stopping crosses, stopping one on ones.

“That is like more the classic goalkeeper. I think David is a really multifunctional, a really complete goalkeeper, so we are very happy with that.”

De Gea is out of contract in the summer yet reports have emerged that the Spain international is close to agreeing a new deal on a reduced basic wage.

Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Europa League, Football, Premier League, Sevilla, David De Gea, Harry Maguire, Manchester United

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.