David de Gea acknowledged that Manchester United are "far away" from where they want to be but vowed to fight back after their Champions League exit.
United crashed out at the last-16 stage of the Champions League after a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford on Tuesday condemned Ralf Rangnick's side to a 2-1 loss on aggregate.
That leaves United out of contention for silverware this season, last lifting a trophy in 2017 when they won the Europa League, with Rangnick's remaining goal being to secure a top-four finish.
The race for a spot in England's top four looks set to go to the wire. Arsenal, who occupy fourth and have played two games fewer than United, could be four points clear of the Red Devils by the time they are next in action at home to Leicester City on April 2.
De Gea called on his side to battle until the end of the season, knowing Champions League qualification is perhaps the only consolation that can salvage another disappointing campaign.
"It's taken me a few days to be able to talk about my intense disappointment from our Champions League exit," the goalkeeper, who was omitted from the Spain squad on Friday, wrote on Twitter.
"We didn't do enough over the two games but this is on us. We must use this as energy to improve ourselves, to learn, to achieve and challenge again. That is all we can do in this tough moment.
"I have said many times that we are far away from where we want to be, but we as players will go again for the remaining Premier League games."
While United - who parted ways with club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in late November - have underperformed this season, matters could have been made significantly worse without De Gea.
Only relegation battlers Leeds United (179), Norwich City (170) and Brentford (146) have faced more shots on target in the Premier League than United (143).
That has forced De Gea to make 105 saves, with Leeds' Illan Meslier (111) the only goalkeeper in the league to make more stops.
The excellence of De Gea stands out when compared to other goalkeepers in terms of the differential between expected goals on target conceded and the number of times they have been beaten.
Expected goals (xG) on target conceded, a way of measuring not just the quality of a chance but the quality of the attempt itself, when subtracted from goals against displays a goalkeeper's shot-stopping prowess.
De Gea has prevented 3.83 by that way of comparison, ranking only behind Wolves' Jose Sa (8.62) in the Premier League.
PGMOL condemns ‘abhorrent’ abuse of referee Anthony Taylor at Budapest airport
Refereeing body PGMOL says it is appalled by “unjustified and abhorrent” abuse directed at Anthony Taylor after video footage emerged of him being accosted by angry fans at Budapest airport.
Taylor and his family can be seen trying to evade a mob, who were shouting at him as he travelled home after refereeing Wednesday night’s Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla in the Hungarian capital.
The Premier League official was criticised for his performance in the final by Roma boss Jose Mourinho during his post-match press conference after the Italian side lost on penalties to Sevilla.
And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.
Following the incident at the airport, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said in a statement on Thursday evening: “PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.
“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.
“We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”
UEFA is awaiting Taylor’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Mourinho for his rant.
Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs.
The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.
Leeds owner Radrizzani ‘appalling’ over reported Elland Road loan security deal
A Leeds fans’ group has accused chairman Andrea Radrizzani of “appalling” behaviour and demanded he immediately sells the club and Elland Road.
Leeds United Supporters Club (LUSC) has responded to The Athletic’s report that majority shareholder Radrizzani had offered to use the Elland Road stadium as collateral when securing a £26million bank loan to buy Sampdoria.
Radrizzani’s company Aser Group, in partnership with finance company Gestio Capital, concluded a takeover of the debt-ridden Italian club on Tuesday night.
The 48-year-old signed off an agreement in principle to use Elland Road as collateral in order to borrow the funds needed from Italian bank Banca Sistema to complete the deal, it was reported.
The Athletic said it was not known whether Elland Road was included in the final deal, or if Radrizzani’s company and partner Gestio Capital were able to secure the loan via a different method.
LUSC chairman Lord Mann said in a statement: “Andrea Radrizzani is no longer an appropriate person to own Leeds United.
“His behaviour is appalling and he risks never being welcome at our club again.”
It had been expected that Radrizzani’s buy-out at Sampdoria would expedite the sale of his 56 per cent stake in Leeds to American co-owners 49ers Enterprises.
The financial arm of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers increased its stake in Leeds to 44 per cent at the end of 2021 with a deal in place to buy Radrizzani’s stake and take full control before January 2024.
But in a personal statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday night, Radrizzani made no mention of a possible change of ownership at Leeds when apologising to fans for their relegation from the Premier League.
Lord Mann added: “The sooner he goes the better and we look forward to the 49ers Enterprises’ offer being accepted.
“The only way he can begin to salvage his reputation is through an immediate sale of the club and the stadium.
“There will be a major question mark about whether he is a fit and proper person to own a football club if he attempts to stay on as owner.”
It was also reported that co-owners 49ers Enterprises and Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear were unaware of Radrizzani’s proposal to use Elland Road as security on his loan.
Leeds have not owned their stadium since 2004. After Radrizzani completed his full takeover of the club in 2017, he bought it back and it is currently owned by Elland Road Ltd, of which the Italian is a director.
Leeds refused to comment when approached by the PA news agency, while others fans’ groups, including Leeds United Supporters Trust, said they were seeking clarification from the club.
National fans group, the Football Supporters Association, said on Twitter that “these are concerning times” for Leeds supporters and added it was further evidence that the Premier League “needed independent regulation”.
Lydia Bedford takes Brentford Under-18s reins in landmark appointment for women
Lydia Bedford has been announced as Brentford Under-18s head coach in a landmark appointment.
Bedford has left her position as assistant boss with Arsenal’s women team to become the first female coach to take the reins at a men’s professional side in England.
The former Leicester manager is set to work alongside Jon-Paul Pittman, who will join as assistant coach from Forest Green.
Brentford director of football Phil Giles said: “I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to attract such talented coaches as Lydia and Jon-Paul to our under-18 team for next year.
“We undertook an extensive recruitment process for these roles. Lydia and Jon-Paul were the two best candidates, and thankfully we were able to finalise their recruitment to the staff.
“I’m sure they will excel, and we all look forward to working with them through pre-season and beyond.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
