Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea's rare clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Brighton not only allowed him to concede a goal-free award, but also equaled the number of clean sheets made by legend Peter Schmeichel for the Red Devils.
Today, the 31-year-old De Gea, like Schmeichel, has completed 128 Premier League clean sheets and can surpass his predecessors in the next game without conceding a goal.
However, in the list of United's all-tournament no-goals in all competitions, Schmeichel is still far ahead of 180 games, and between him and De Gea, Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney (175 games) in the era of Sir Matt Busby, Manchester United's current goalkeeper has 163 clean sheets in all competitions, ranking third.
After the game, De Gea revealed that Manchester United manager Ronnick's adjustment at half-time helped the team to victory. "Getting three points is always a good result, especially after the last few draws." De Gea said, "We are very happy. We know Brighton is a team that's good at possession, and it's sharp to press high, and I think they're a strong team. United started the second half better, scoring goals and giving the opponents one less shot, but our performance was there for all to see."
De Gea added: "At half-time, the manager told us it was home and we had to move forward in the second half and press it. After the red card appeared, we took control of the game, but in the last 5 minutes they made an impact. Honestly, it was a very tough game and it turned out well. I made a major save and we kept a clean sheet. That's what we want to do at the moment, and the defense has to be tight. Honestly, it was a great save!"
De Gea believed United did not score a second goal, leaving Brighton with a chance, with the Red Devils' old Wilbeck nearly drawn before Bruno Fernandez sealed the win. "I kept saying, 'Come on, we have to kill the game once and for all.' Because in the Premier League you can never predict the outcome, even if only 10 people play, Brighton has a chance to score. So our second goal came too late, but at least this time we scored the second. We should have scored earlier, had a few good chances, and if you didn't take advantage of them, it would be painful, and if you didn't end the suspense, you would suffer."
"Brighton are a good team and know how to play, but that's football, we win the game and everyone is happy. The first half wasn't ideal, the opponents had a couple of good chances, but we reacted well in the second half, controlled the game, scored goals and made them red. Even so, we ended up giving each other two chances. Honestly, Welbeck had a great chance, but thankfully he missed it, and then Bruno [Fernandez] scored one more goal for us and the game was over."
Summing up the game, De Gea said: "We stepped up our pressing in the second half and we knew Brighton liked to organise from the back, so we pressed forward. They liked possession, we made steals, Cristiano (Ronaldo) scored into the world wave, after that the opponent was one less person, we controlled the game until the last 10 minutes and they created several chances again. But as I said, although the performance is average, 3 points is the most important."
Referring to his save, De Gea said: "It was a good save and helped the team keep a clean sheet. I think not conceding goals is also very important for us, I was happy to make the save, the team counterattacked in the second half and won."
De Gea admits that United can only compete for four at the moment, which is not qualified, but it is also a fact that must be admitted. "We should strive for more important achievements than the top four, but that's the reality. There are a lot of teams that are staring at fourth place and we should be strong enough to get a lot of points. I hope this game will bring more confidence and better feeling to the team. Visit Leeds United on Sunday, it's another big battle and it's going to be difficult, I think you have to focus on preparing for that game, don't think too far, only Leeds United. We certainly want to stay in the top four, let's keep fighting, give everything and make sure we get fourth."