De Gea 'possessed' as Man Utd beat Tottenham

The first half was a bit leisurely for David de Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper did not have to show his talent once, as Man Utd dominated the game and led 1-0 thanks to Marcus Rashford (pictured) in the 44th minute.

But the second half saw perhaps the most difficult match of De Gea's career, as Tottenham pushed their formation and tempo, attacking in search of an equaliser. The difficult match began for the Man Utd goalkeeper in the 48th minute, when he denied a shot from Harry Kane.

Just a minute later, De Gea had to dive all the way to the left, pushing the ball with both hands to block, when Trippiers crossed into the penalty area for Dele Alli to head in dangerously.

In the 58th minute, Man Utd's goal was threatened again by an aerial attack from Tottenham. But De Gea continued to choose the right position to catch Kane's header.

In the 70th minute, it was the home team's Toby Alderweireld's turn to try his hand with a left-footed shot, but the winner was still De Gea.

Five minutes earlier, the Man Utd goalkeeper had once again frustrated Dele Alli by choosing a good position to receive the Tottenham midfielder's shot.

In the 71st minute, Tottenham was awarded a direct free kick. Harry Kane (not in the picture) took the responsibility of taking the free kick, dribbling the ball over the wall, but it was not difficult enough. De Gea flew to catch the ball.

The pressure Tottenham put on Man Utd's goal increased. The opportunity came to the home team in the 74th minute, from a situation where Eriksen made a delicate pass for Dele Alli to accelerate past Matic, into a good position to finish. But De Gea once again closed the angle well, blocking the finish with the home team's number 20's strong right foot.

To strengthen their attack, Tottenham withdrew midfielder Harry Winks, making room for third striker Fernando Llorente from the 80th minute. Six minutes later, Llorente jumped high to head the ball to Kane. Despite being pressed by Linderlof, Tottenham's captain still turned skillfully, finding enough space to finish (in the photo). But De Gea still managed to choose a position, using his right foot to push the ball away, saving Man Utd after Kane's powerful and carefully watched shot.

In the 89th minute, it was Llorente's turn to have a chance to finish. The newly-entered striker controlled a cross with his first touch, then finished with his next touch. But theGuardian(He) described, "De Gea anticipated this situation, and gently knelt down, caught and hugged the ball while holding a newborn baby"

Llorente looked up to the sky in frustration and helplessness after being denied a chance to score.

Tottenham did everything they could in the second half, from long shots, shots in the 16m50 area, free kicks, high balls, headers... But the equalizer they were hoping for did not come in De Gea's brilliant evening.

Post-match statistics showed that De Gea made 11 saves in the second half. Harry Kane (four times), Dele Alli (three times) and Eriksen, Son Heung-min, Alderweireld, Llorente (one time each) all sighed or lamented their helplessness against the Man Utd goalkeeper.

With 11 saves against Tottenham, De Gea set a record for the most saves and clean sheets by a goalkeeper in a match in Europe's top five leagues. He did not score, but by frustrating the opposing strikers, De Gea contributed to the important victory for Man Utd.

Beating Tottenham 1-0 on January 13, Man Utd overcame the first big match under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, extending the winning streak with this interim coach to six matches.