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David de Gea equals Peter Schmeichel’s record of 180 clean sheets for Manchester United as the Spaniard puts on an excellent display in a 3-0 win over Leicester
- David de Gea scores his 180th clean sheet to tie with Peter Schmeichel
- The Spanish goalkeeper made two vital saves in the 3-0 win over Leicester City
- Goals from Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho sealed United’s victory
David de Gea equaled Peter Schmeichel’s clean sheet record for Manchester United in a stunning performance as United beat Leicester City.
The Spanish goalkeeper was in top form during United’s 3-0 win, making a series of crucial first-half saves to keep his team in the game.
De Gea produced first-class saves from both Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho, when it looked as if on both occasions the Foxes would take the lead.
His performances proved to be the platform for United to win the game thanks to two goals from the in-form Marcus Rashford and another from Jadon Sancho, to see Erik ten Hag’s side clinch a 3-0 victory.
The clean sheet turned out to be a major milestone for De Gea, who scored his 180th shutout for the club, putting him on a level with club legend Schmeichel.
David de Gea celebrates United’s 3-0 win over Leicester and his record clean sheet
De Gea’s 180th shutout means he has tied Peter Schmeichel for the most clean sheets in club history.
There was some confusion over De Gea’s numbers, with some media claiming that he was already level with Schmeichel. However, United confirmed this week that he was still one clean sheet away from achieving the achievement.
The confusion centered on a game with Arsenal in May 2015, where De Gea left the field injured with his team 1-0 up, and according to Opta, goalkeepers must complete the full 90 minutes or it doesn’t count as a clean sheet, which which means that it could not be added to the booty of the Spanish goalkeeper.
De Gea’s record-equalling clean sheet came in the 32-year-old’s 521st appearance for the club, after signing for the Red Devils from Atlético Madrid in 2011 for a fee of €18.9m. sterling pounds.
After some initial difficulties, De Gea has come to level with one of the best goalkeepers in United’s history, while also collecting a host of trophies during his time at Old Trafford.
He was part of the last Untied team to win the Premier League in 2013, and has also won an FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield and a Europa League medal with the club.
The win over Leicester means United are now just three points behind Manchester City in the table, and five points behind Arsenal.
They won’t return to Premier League action until March 5, when they travel to Anfield to play Liverpool, but before that they will face Barcelona in the second leg of their Europa League play-off, before face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final next Sunday.
De Gea signed for Manchester United in 2011 and has exceeded 500 appearances
During his time at Old Trafford, De Gea won several major trophies, including the Europa League in 2017.