Man United: David de Gea fails to save a penalty against Brighton despite cheat sheet

Manchester United fans were stunned by David de Gea after the goalkeeper was seen reading a series of notes before they won Brighton on penalties – but he still failed to make a single save.

The Red Devils had to work for their spot in the FA Cup final against the Seagulls as both sides couldn’t separate after 120 minutes, with Roberto de Zerbi’s men missing a host of chances to score at Wembley.

And at the end of normal playing time, it was a chance for De Gea to step up and become a hero.

The 32-year-old studied what appeared to be a cheat sheet on the floor shortly before stepping between the posts for the thrilling shootout, which United went on to win 7-6.

That was fortunate for De Gea after his research failed to bear fruit as he was sent the wrong way on every attempt, with Solly March’s final penalty kicking over the crossbar to send United through to a final against rivals Man City .

But the Spaniard’s investigation turned up nothing, because he was always sent in the wrong direction

Fortunately for De Gea, he didn’t need to make a save as Solly March fired over to ensure United won 7-6 to reach the FA Cup final against Man City.

Although relieved to see the team cross the line, after the shootout victory United fans were still stunned that De Gea’s notes had no impact whatsoever.

One fan joked: ‘De Gea had an open book test and still failed the test. He didn’t save one penalty after all the notes he got.’

Another wrote: ‘Is De Gea just ducking the other way after reading all his notes or something? Maybe he doesn’t know left and right?’

“How does De Gea read the notes on his bottle but still not save a penalty?” another supporter wondered.

And you just had to see the funny side of it by writing, “De Gea going the wrong way every time right after checking notes kills me.”

United fans were frustrated with De Gea’s ability to save penalties in the past, having also failed to make a single save when defeated in a shootout by Villarreal in the 2021 Europa League final.

De Gea was also on a cheat sheet at the time, but failed to go as instructed on a few occasions on the crucial kicks as LaLiga won 11-10.

United players did their best to motivate De Gea during the shootout against Brighton, with Casemiro dancing around halfway through to give him advice.

Casemiro offered to take United’s first penalty and coolly dismissed his attempt.

But the midfielder didn’t just score his effort and relaxed on the halfway line as others made the long walk to the penalty spot.

Man United fans were stunned by De Gea’s antics when he failed to save a penalty in the shootout

Instead, he decided to give United goalkeeper David de Gea some advice, hoping it would help him distract Brighton’s penalty takers.

Originally holding hands with Marcus Rashford – who also scored – Casemiro leaped away from his teammates before shouting to get De Gea’s attention.

He then jumped around and waved his arms in an apparent attempt to show the shot-stopper how to move between the goal as Brighton’s takers moved forward.

The always energetic Brazilian was shaking his arms wildly, kicking his legs in different directions and bouncing back and forth as De Gea watched.

Casemiro danced on the halfway line to show United goalkeeper David de Gea how to knock out Brighton’s penalty specialists