Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has spoken about how the club must beat the best teams in Europe if they want to succeed.
The Spanish goalkeeper has said that the team must outperform any team they come up against, regardless of their reputation.
De Gea, who celebrated his 32nd birthday earlier this week, spoke to ManUtd.com and was asked what he thought of United’s Europa League draw.
“We know that Barcelona is a great team, I think they are playing well,” De Gea told the club’s official website.
“If you want to win the Europa League, you have to play against the best teams and Barcelona is [one of these].
“It’s for the fans and we will do everything possible to win both games,” added the Spaniard, who has been capped 45 times.
After a shaky start to the season, conceding seven goals in United’s first three games, De Gea watched Manchester City overtake him with six goals at Old Trafford in October.
But De Gea has been in fine form of late, making a string of big saves in most games and allowing just two goals in five games before the weekend’s loss at Aston Villa.
The importance of these displays hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates, either, with some of his defenders praising him in recent weeks.
And all this has happened having to recognize that he is now, in the best of cases, the fourth goalkeeper in Spain.
But with Barcelona slipping out of the Champions League, United will relish the opportunity to defeat the La Liga giants and have plenty of time to prepare.
With the Red Devils set to take on the Catalan side in a two-legged play-off in February, the chance to return to home soil and a glamorous draw at Camp Nou are sure to have the United goalkeeper licking his lips with anticipation. . .
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