LONDON, June 20 ― Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said he was “sick to death” of David de Gea and the goalkeeper and Harry Maguire should hang their heads in shame for their performance in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.
During a halftime rant on Sky Sports, the Irishman said he was “flabbergasted” by errors from centre back Maguire and De Gea as Steven Bergwijn raced through to score the opener for Spurs.
The Dutchman easily dribbled past sluggish England defender Maguire and struck a shot which De Gea was unable to keep out.
Keane criticised Maguire but his strongest remarks concerned Spaniard De Gea.
“I'm shocked at that goal,” Keane said. “I've watched a lot of football over the years, but to give that away, I'm fuming.
“I can't believe (defender Luke) Shaw heads the ball up and then runs forward, I'm staggered at Maguire, staggered that an international player can get done like this.
“I'm sick to death of this goalkeeper (De Gea). I would be fighting him at halftime. There is no getting away from that. I would be swinging punches at that guy.
“This is an established international goalkeeper. I'm flabbergasted. There's got to be something going on at halftime. If I was (manager) Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer), make some changes... some of them are going through the motions at the moment.”
Eighth-placed Spurs, under ex-United manager Jose Mourinho, were looking to close the four-point gap on a United side in fifth place as the two teams battle for European football.
“Spurs have been okay, they've been compact,” added Keane. “But Maguire and De Gea, I wouldn't let them on the bus after the match, let them get a taxi back to Manchester.
“These are established international players. I know we've got to analyse the game, but you do your job.
“We're trying to get in the top four, not win leagues - just the top four! God forbid about winning trophies. It's shocking. I am disgusted with it.
“Maguire, De Gea, you should hang your heads in shame. Representing Manchester United, letting people run past you.”
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer believes De Gea's position could be under threat.
“Over the past 18 months David de Gea has made a considerable amount of mistakes and that's not expected from a keeper at that level,” Schwarzer told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“For a world-class keeper, the maximum number of mistakes leading to a goal shouldn't be more than two a season and he's clearly made more than that.” ― Reuters
