Erik ten Hag threw his support behind "brilliant" David de Gea after the goalkeeper's costly mistake in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to West Ham United on Sunday.
United enjoyed the better chances in the opening half at London Stadium but went behind when De Gea somehow failed to keep out a tame bouncing shot from Said Benrahma which nestled in the bottom corner, despite the Spaniard getting a strong hand to the ball.
“I think we all know, David knows also, it’s a mistake, but he’s a brilliant goalkeeper," United manager Ten Hag said. "We may not be in this position when he didn’t show this shape over the course of the season. Mistakes are part of football and we have to live with it and we have to bounce back as a team.”
United were perhaps lucky not to concede a penalty when Victor Lindelof moved his arm into the path of a ball across the box from Benrahma, but the VAR decided not to award a penalty as the first half came to a close.
De Gea redeemed himself somewhat early in the second half with a superb reaction save to deny Tomas Soucek, but he looked shaky again as the Czech midfielder scored with a header in the 73rd minute, only to see the goal chalked off for offside.
The defeat was United's second in a row following the 1-0 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion, and their seemingly comfortable stroll to a top-four place and qualification for next season's Champions League is coming under increasing threat.
United are fourth in the Premier League on 63 points after 34 games, one point ahead of Liverpool and with a game in hand over the Merseysiders, who are on a six-match winning run. United's game in hand is against Chelsea, who may be enduring a miserable season but have the squad to take points from United.
“We have to keep going and we have to show character," Ten Hag said. "It is only four games and you need the energy. It is in your head, make sure it is not in your legs. Get ready for the games, clear head, energy, focus, and go.
West Ham v Man United player ratings
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WEST HAM PLAYER RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski – 7. Commanded his area well, rushing out to deny Man United’s forwards on several occasions. A very tidy display. EPA -
Thilo Kehrer – 7. Gave away one or two cheap fouls, but the Germany international was defensively solid in the absence of Vladimir Coufal at right-back. PA -
Nayef Aguerd – 8. West Ham’s most impressive defender on the night, stepping out of the backline intelligently at times to disrupt United attacks. A promising performance from the Moroccan. AP -
Angelo Ogbonna – 7. A solid if unspectacular outing, with the centre-back maintaining good positional discipline throughout. He was also vital in the air as the visitors whipped in several menacing crosses late on. AFP -
Aaron Cresswell – 7. Provided great energy down the left channel, although too often his smart runs forward were ignored by teammates. Cresswell’s shepherding of Antony was also impressive, with the Brazilian’s only real joy coming from central positions. Reuters -
Tomas Soucek – 8. Looked a real threat in the final third, coming close to scoring with a half-volley in the second half. Having netted against Crystal Palace last time out, the Czech midfielder looks to have rediscovered his best form. AFP -
Declan Rice – 9. Another sublime display from the captain, whose positional awareness and plugging of holes defensively was decisive. He also had one or two moments of brilliance in going forward, showcasing his close control and ability to pick a pass. PA -
Jarrod Bowen – 7. A willing runner for the Hammers, working hard out of possession, all while trying to stretch the play with sprints in behind the away side’s defence. AFP -
Lucas Paqueta – 7. Improved as the game wore on, becoming West Ham’s creative hub in the second half. While his end product was slightly subpar, his movement caused Man United all sorts of problems throughout. AFP -
Said Benrahma – 7. Scorer of the game’s only goal, with his speculative effort from range forcing a dreadful error out of David de Gea. While he was quiet for large spells, there were some moments of real quality whenever the forward got to the by-line. AFP -
Michail Antonio – 8. The big man up front was a real handful, driving his side forward repeatedly with determined and powerful ball carries. His biggest contribution was winning the ball back for Benrahma’s opener – a richly deserved reward for his consistent efforts out of possession. Getty -
SUBS: Pablo Fornals (Benrahma 87’) – N/A. Largely tasked with tracking Aaron Wan-Bissaka defensively as Man United pushed for an equaliser. AFP -
Ben Johnson (Antonio 90’+5) – N/A. Slotted into the West Ham backline for the final few moments of added time. Getty -
Flynn Downes (Paqueta 90’+5) – N/A. The young midfielder replaced Paqueta in added time. PA -
Emerson Palmieri (Cresswell 90’+8) – N/A. Came on for the final few seconds. Getty -
David de Gea after conceding Said Benrahma's goal in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to West Ham at London Stadium. PA -
Aaron Wan Bissaka – 5. Ran from right-back to help set up a 10th minute chance. Got into attacking areas and looked strong going forward. Booked. Nasty clash of heads with Soucek. AP -
Victor Lindelof – 5. Good defending to stop a cross on 58 and Antonio was a handful for him. West Ham appealed for a penalty when the ball hit his arm. AP -
Luke Shaw – 5. Still comfortable in the centre, except when De Gea’s ball was supposed to go to him before the goal. Stopped Paqueta in an 85th minute attack. AFP -
Tyrell Malacia – 5. Scraped his studs down Cresswell’s achilles and yellow carded for it. United’s defence were bullied by the aggressive, effective, Hammers. AP -
Casemiro – 5. Not at the level he reached before his red cards and outshone by Rice as David Moyes recorded his first league win against his former club. Needs to find his mojo in the remaining four league games. AFP -
Christian Eriksen – 5. The 23rd time he’d started with Casemiro and Fernandes – United hadn’t lost any of them. Until Sunday. Curled a shot wide on 15. Like many, he can’t find his range. PA -
Bruno Fernandes – 5. Smartly positioned to get a shot off past the post on six minutes. Shooting way off target, as was the energy in the side he captains. Rightly frustrated when Martial didn’t connect enough with his late corner. EPA -
Antony – 6. Had to hit the target after 10, but United don’t score goals away from home so that was unlikely to happen. Hit the outside of the post after a promising attack on 32. AP -
Wout Weghorst – 4. More withdrawn and defended well after four minutes to atone for a De Gea error. Then, almost nothing until he tested Fabianski with a 55th minute shot on target. First player to come off. AP -
Marcus Rashford – 6. Ran from his own half and created a chance which he shot over after two minutes. Caught the outside of the post on 17. Did well to get a shot on target on 76. Without his goals, and they’re drying up, the team sink. Getty -
SUBS: Anthony Martial (Weghorst 56’) – 5. Gave the ball away a few times, then charged through the West Ham defence in a wonderful move for a shot on 90 minutes. Should have got contact on the resulting corner. PA -
Jadon Sancho (Antony 74’) – N/A. Nothing. EPA -
Marcel Sabitzer (Eriksen 74’) – N/A. Nothing. EPA -
Diogo Dalot (Wan Bissaka 87’) – N/A. Came on and passed the ball straight to Rice to set up a West Ham attack. PA -
Fred (Malacia 87’) – N/A. Getty
“I said to the players: ‘Don’t feel sorry for ourselves.’ We want to be in the Champions League, the Champions League is our life, and then you have to suffer and you have to sacrifice and, especially, you have to believe.
"As I just said in the dressing room... come on, [mistakes] can happen, in this season we've had some terrible setbacks and every time we bounced back so, once again, show the character and go on."
As Ten Hag and United aim to regroup, David Moyes said West Ham can use Sunday's win to build momentum for Thursday's Europa Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar.
"We needed a top performance and tonight I felt we were getting much closer to it," West Ham manager Moyes said. "We were better with the ball, harder working, more compact when we needed to be because we played a really good team tonight and we'll play another one on Thursday in AZ, as you don’t play bad teams in European semi-finals either. Everyone’s got to be ready to help us get to a final."
