David De Gea blunder against West Ham costs Man Utd dear

David De Gea made a huge goalkeeping howler as Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat at West Ham on Sunday that threatens to send their season into a tailspin. Just a few days ago United were heavy favourites to finish in the Premier League's top four but now they are wobbling badly while the Hammers have edged closer to safety. The result hinged on a catastrophic first-half error by De Gea, who let a tame shot from Said Benrahma squirm past him in the 27th minute after his team had largely dominated the opening period.

De Gea's blunder came on the day on which he became the most-capped goalkeeper in Manchester United's history, appearing for the 540th time to move ahead of Alex Stepney.

United, who suffered the pain of conceding a last-gasp penalty in their defeat at Brighton on Thursday, had been boosted by Arsenal's 2-0 win at third-placed Newcastle earlier in the day.

They are still in fourth place but are now just one point ahead of red-hot Liverpool in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League, even though they still have a game in hand.

A disappointed Erik ten Hag defended his beleaguered goalkeeper but said his team were still in control of their destiny this season with four league games left to play.

"Mistakes are part of football and in this team you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport," the United manager told BT Sport.

"Over the season he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it's football but everybody has to take responsibility."

West Ham, who play in the Europa Conference League semi-finals this week, are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.

United made a bright start at the London Stadium, with top-scorer