As Manchester United's longest-serving current player, David De Gea has seen it all in a turbulent last decade for the club.
The highs have been few, the lows plenty, with United goalkeeper De Gea having played under five permanent managers and three caretaker bosses since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down. In De Gea's 12 years at Old Trafford, United have gone from being the country's dominant force to – at times – a laughing stock, unravelling both on and off the pitch in a spectacular fall from grace.
That is what makes United's current renaissance under Erik ten Hag – with this 13th straight win at Old Trafford in all competitions underling their continued progress - all the more sweet for De Gea.
“I’ve been in very tough moments for this club,” said De Gea. “Now I’m enjoying it more, winning games, especially here at home, and it’s great to watch. The spirit is great, the atmosphere is great. Everyone is thinking in the same way, playing in the same way.
“It’s a great run. I think we've improved a lot from last season. It means a lot, because the game was under control, then in one action we lost one big player and it was tough until the end. They scored one goal and had a couple of good chances at the end.
“We fought and it feels great to have won the game like we did. The way the game finished, it feels even better when you win. The team spirit is great from everyone, everyone fights until the end, and everyone is ready from the bench to perform well. It’s great to watch the team playing and performing well.
“I think it’s everything, a good manager, good players who bring experience to the team, people who want the ball, who play well with the ball. It’s a mix of everything.”
Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford sealed the win for United, which consolidated fourth spot and kept them on course for a return to the Champions League. The only blot on an otherwise positive afternoon for United was the 70th-minute dismissal of midfielder Casemiro, arguably their most important and influential player.
Casemrio will miss United's next three Premier League games – back-to-back clashes with Leeds and the visit of Leicester to Old Trafford - after grabbing Palace's Will Hughes around the neck.
De Gea admitted United will miss Casemiro, but it says everything about their new-found resilience that they were able to see out the last 20 minutes – plus seven minutes of added time – to win.
“It’s going to be tough, for sure,” said De Gea. “We already lost Christian Eriksen, now Casemiro, big players for us, but we have a bigger squad, players are ready to play and everyone is really focused.”
De Gea was coy when asked if United, now just eight points behind leaders Arsenal with 17 games left, are in the title race, which shows the confidence and belief Ten Hag has instilled in his squad.
“I always say game by game, prepare for the next game,” said De Gea. “That’s the most important thing. Let’s see what happens in the future.” For the first time in a long while, the future looks bright for United, with England's most successful club continuing to plot their route back to the top.
