David De Gea Gives His Verdict On Luke Shaw And Victor Lindelof Pairing After FA Cup Win
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has hailed the centre-back partnership of Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw following the Red Devils’ triumph at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.
The Reds won 7-6 on penalties, with Lindelof scoring the winning penalty to send his side through to the final where they will face Manchester City.
Many of United’s players gave a good account of themselves but none more so than the defenders who shored up the backline and kept a resilient Brighton out.
At the heart of the team’s defence were Shaw and Lindelof.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane‘s injuries left Harry Maguire and Lindelof as the only other fit senior central defenders available for selection to Erik ten Hag.
Maguire was suspended for the Brighton clash and so it fell on Shaw’s shoulders to slot in next to Lindelof.
The two struck a formidable pairing and answered whatever questions were posed to them by Brighton’s attackers. Their respective displays were especially impressive considering that was the first time they played together as a centre-back duo.
De Gea spoke to club media and lauded Shaw and Lindelof’s contributions.
The Spaniard said, “I know them both well, so I know how good they are.”
“They show already how good they are with the ball, without the ball, great players.”
De Gea revealed that when Lindelof stepped up to take his penalty, he had no doubt that the Swede would bury his effort.
“To be honest, I was very convinced, as soon as they missed the penalty. I saw Victor taking the ball, I said ‘we won, we won,’ because he has ice in his veins. He’s so quality with the ball,” he said.
De Gea added on Lindelof, “Victor’s not been playing so much this season and he played really well again. For me, he’s a great, great centre back.”
“He’s always there for the team.”
For United, all attention now shifts to Thursday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur. Erik ten Hag would be well-served by starting Shaw and Lindelof next to each other again.
