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Manchester United eased past Real Betis by four goals to one in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.
United’s four goals came through Marcus Rashford and second-half goals from Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst.
While United blitzed through Betis in the second half, the opening 45 minutes were a far cry from what fans have become accustomed to under Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils failed to convert the multitude of chances they created and were punished for it in the 32nd minute.
Ayoze Perez equalized and gave Betis an avenue back into the game.
One player who failed to give a good account of himself in the victory was David de Gea.
De Gea’s weaknesses were on show again, especially in the first period of the game.
His poor distribution kept United on the back foot and on a number of occasions, the 20-time English champions were lucky not to get punished.
During the 90 minutes he was on the pitch, De Gea made one save.
He ran out only once and was successful with his only attempt.
The Spaniard registered 30 touches of the ball to his name and registered a 68% pass accuracy – he successfully made 17 out of 25 passes.
A damning statistic of De Gea’s showing could be highlighted by the long balls he tried to ping to his teammates.
The 32-year-old tried to deliver six long balls and only found his colleagues once.
De Gea made two clearances.
(stats obtained from Sofascore)
With De Gea’s contract expiring at the end of the season, a decision from Ten Hag is pending. On this evidence, there’s a strong case for letting the United man go.
