Ten Hag backs 'brilliant' De Gea after costly mistake in Man United's defeat to West Ham

Erik ten Hag threw his support behind "brilliant" David de Gea after the goalkeeper's costly mistake in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to West Ham United on Sunday.

United enjoyed the better chances in the opening half at London Stadium but went behind when De Gea somehow failed to keep out a tame bouncing shot from Said Benrahma which nestled in the bottom corner, despite the Spaniard getting a strong hand to the ball.

“I think we all know, David knows also, it’s a mistake, but he’s a brilliant goalkeeper," United manager Ten Hag said. "We may not be in this position when he didn’t show this shape over the course of the season. Mistakes are part of football and we have to live with it and we have to bounce back as a team.”

United were perhaps lucky not to concede a penalty when Victor Lindelof moved his arm into the path of a ball across the box from Benrahma, but the VAR decided not to award a penalty as the first half came to a close.

De Gea redeemed himself somewhat early in the second half with a superb reaction save to deny Tomas Soucek, but he looked shaky again as the Czech midfielder scored with a header in the 73rd minute, only to see the goal chalked off for offside.

The defeat was United's second in a row following the 1-0 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion, and their seemingly comfortable stroll to a top-four place and qualification for next season's Champions League is coming under increasing threat.

United are fourth in the Premier League on 63 points after 34 games, one point ahead of Liverpool and with a game in hand over the Merseysiders, who are on a six-match winning run. United's game in hand is against Chelsea, who may be enduring a miserable season but have the squad to take points from United.

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