De Gea blunder squanders United opportunity

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

David De Gea made his latest mistake to cost Manchester United more points in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) yesterday.

The United goalkeeper has come under pressure in recent weeks and did little to answer his critics when he gifted Chelsea the equaliser just before half-time. De Gea spilt Antonio Rudiger’s shot from distance into the path of Marcos Alonso, who found the net via the right-hand post.

The draw was a major blow for United’s hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification. Fourth-placed Chelsea hold a three-point advantage over sixth-placed United with two games remaining.

United had taken the lead against Chelsea with a well-worked goal after only 11 minutes at Old Trafford.

Luke Shaw ran on to Romelu Lukaku’s chipped ball into the box and squared for Juan Mata to slot home against his former club.

United had to make a change 20 minutes from time as Eric Bailly was forced off with a serious-looking knee injury after making a challenge.

De Gea made a save from Gonzalo Higuaín in the closing stages after Marcos Rojo had seen a header cleared off the line by Pedro at the other end.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had given a firm rebuttal on Friday to suggestions he could take De Gea out of the starting line-up after a costly mistake against Manchester City on Wednesday, and he will be faced with the same question again.

Rudiger’s speculative 35-yard shot was Chelsea’s first effort on target, and it should have been comfortable for De Gea, but the Spaniard spilled the ball at Alonso’s feet.

United remain in sixth place as a result, but a win could have taken them to 67 points, which would have been the same as Chelsea, and would have seen fifth-placed Arsenal slip a spot after their 3-0 loss to 2016 champions Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Arsenal struggled to get out of second gear in their game and had their difficulty compounded when right back Ainsley Maitland-Niles was shown a second yellow card and sent off in the 36th minute. Youri Tielemans capitalised on a free header in minute 59 to put Leicester in front, then a brace from target man Jamie Vardy in minutes 86 and 95 saw Unai Emery’s side slump to their third straight defeat in a week and fourth in five games.

Sergio Aguero was Man City’s lone scorer at Turf Moor against Burnley in their game, also played yesterday. The 1-0 win keeps City in front of title challengers Liverpool, with just two games left for all teams in the EPL.