Former Manchester United player Michael Owen has sung the praises of David De Gea after the goalkeeper pulled off a man-of-the-match display against Real Madrid.
Panned earlier in the year for some suspect performances, De Gea silenced his critics by pulling off a string of wondrous saves to help Manchester United hold Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Taking to his Twitter account, Owen applauded the Spaniard for his display in Madrid and believed the criticism directed at De Gea previously was not warranted.
“Unbelievable save by De Gea. I know I’m right when I say he is top class. You wait to see how good he is in five years. Inevitably he will make more mistakes throughout his career. Even the best do, especially in his position,” he wrote.
“I’m sure people will then try to highlight it more than they would normally do because he is an easy target. Other goalkeepers have made far more mistakes than him this year but very little is said. The price you pay playing for a famous team, maybe? Fair enough.”
The former England international also tipped De Gea to emulate Old Trafford favourite Edwin van der Sar in the future.
“Considering his age he is top drawer. Look at Van der Sar when he was his age. Similar build. Then look at what he looked like in his prime. Best is yet to come,” Owen stated.
Manchester United turn their focus to the FA Cup with a tie against Reading on Sunday.
Barca’s Villa back in hospital
Barcelona striker David Villa has returned to hospital as he continues to suffer pain from kidney stones, his club have confirmed. The 31-year-old was admitted to hospital to have the stones removed on Monday and was released a day later, but a statement from Barca on Thursday said he had returned to be kept under observation. The statement read: “The club’s medical services have released a statement explaining that David Villa has been readmitted to the Hospital of Barcelona `due to the persistence of the pain caused by the renal colic he is suffering and to keep him under observation`. “He has been ruled out of Saturday’s league game against Granada.”
