Erik ten Hag refused to blame David De Gea after the goalkeeper’s mistake handed West Ham a crucial victory in their battle to stay up and dented Manchester United’s hopes of Champions League qualification.
De Gea, who has made several costly errors this season, was badly at fault when Saïd Benrahma scored the only goal of the game at the London Stadium. But Ten Hag was reluctant to single the Spaniard out after United, who are in danger of losing fourth place to Liverpool, slipped to a second consecutive away defeat.
“He has the most clean sheets in the league so we would not be here in this position without him,” United’s manager said. “He fully has my belief. No concerns with him. It happens but as a team you have to deal with it, show character, be resilient and bounce back. We want him to stay and extend his contract.”
Liverpool are a point below United, who have a game in hand. Ten Hag did not want to blame tiredness for his team’s limp display. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself,” the Dutchman said. “Stick together, individuals take responsibility and make sure you have the energy and focus. Play as a team and we’ll get results, we’ve proven it all season. Tiredness is in your head and if you want you can take it out. It’s not about Liverpool, it’s about us and because of the table we have everything in our hands.”
West Ham, who play the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, rose seven points above the bottom three with three games left.
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“It’s a huge step to beat Manchester United in the run-in,” David Moyes said. “The players showed great character and spirit. We had to dig deep but also had moments. It was probably more like West Ham from recent years. We knew we were up against it. Now we have another big challenge in midweek.
“You have to win a big game normally to get away from trouble. I remember beating Chelsea 3-2 in a similar situation [in the 2020-21 season]. There are games that stand out. I’ve got no doubt I’ll remember this.”
