David de Gea reacts to Atletico Madrid draw and praises 'important' Man Utd star

David de Gea insists he and his Manchester United team-mates are content with their 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid and praised ‘important’ Anthony Elanga for his late equaliser.

Ralf Rangnick’s side appeared up against it when Joao Felix scorer a superb header after just seven minutes, but Elanga came off the bench to equalise and ensure the last-16 Champions League tie is level going into the return leg at Old Trafford.

While Atletico were arguably the better team on the night, hitting the woodwork twice after going ahead, De Gea had a fairly quiet evening on his return to Madrid.

The Spaniard, who spent almost a decade at Atletico at the start of his career, believes the 1-1 draw was a ‘fair result’ and hopes United can book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals in the home leg.

‘It was great to be back at home in Madrid. It was strange because I played for this club but it is football,’ De Gea told beIN SPORTS.

‘We are Manchester United, we wanted to win, it was a tight game and both teams had a couple of chances in the whole game. The draw is a fair result.

‘We came to a very difficult pitch against a very good team, they started with more intensity than us and won the 50-50s, they scored a very good goal.

‘In the second half we showed that we have good character and we played good, scored a goal and everything to play at Old Trafford.

‘The second leg will be 50-50, both teams can win but with the fans hopefully we can play better than today. Let’s win the game and be in the next round.’

It was Elanga’s 80th-minute goal that boosted Manchester United’s Champions League hopes and De Gea says the teenager has been an ‘important player’ for the team in recent weeks.

Elanga made his Red Devils debut in