The water bottle in David de Gea’s hands during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out reveals the content of his notes.
After a forgettable evening in Sevilla last week, David de Gea bounced back to his best against Brighton, making several impressive saves during normal time and keeping his team in the game.
Despite having a detailed set of notes, David de Gea was unable to save any of the penalties taken during the shoot-out against Brighton.
United’s number one saw Alexis Mac Allister, Pascal Gross, Deniz Undav, Pervis Estupinan, Lewis Dunk, and Adam Webster all convert their spot-kicks, while Solly March missed his, sending the ball over the bar.
The notes on David de Gea’s water bottle have been circulating in a picture, two days after the final whistle.
The image, shown below, reveals that the notes contained specific instructions on the expected height and side of the penalty kicks. It can be assumed that the names of the players were also written on the notes.
Man United managed to win on penalties without David de Gea saving a single one…
What notes were on that bottle 🧐📝 pic.twitter.com/5GqDFQRMuC
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 24, 2023
De Gea has a history of using notes to gain an advantage. In the previous year, during United’s Europa League final penalty shoot-out defeat against Villarreal, he brought a sheet that contained crucial details about Villarreal’s penalty takers.
During the shoot-out, both teams scored 21 penalties in a row before De Gea’s attempt was saved by Geronimo Rulli.
De Gea has managed to save only 13 penalty kicks out of 72 attempts, which has recently drawn criticism from fans.
One fan commented on his efforts against Brighton, saying: “De Gea just watching these penalties like us at home,” while another said: “The PTSD of that De Gea penalty miss v Villarreal is haunting me already.”
A third added: “You’d think David de Gea would save a penalty every now and then wouldn’t you, if only by way of the law of averages.”
After the full-time whistle, De Gea said he was “prepared as always” and “tried to put pressure” on the Brighton penalty takers.
“It was a very tight game we played a very good team,” he said. “Brighton play really good football. We are now in the final but we have another big game on Thursday so we need to go home and recover.
“They were great penalties. I was prepared as always. I tried to put pressure on the takers.
“There’s still a long way to the final but it will be a big game against one of the best teams in Europe and the world. We showed at home we can beat them [Man City] so let’s hope. We are on the right track. One trophy, another final and fighting for the top four. It’s not enough but it’s a big step from last season.”