David de Gea dusted himself off after a harrowing night in Seville to help Manchester United see off Brighton in a cagey FA Cup semi-final
David de Gea is far from a perfect goalkeeper, but one thing you cannot question is his mentality. Three days after the worst performance of his life in Manchester United's capitulation against Sevilla, the Spaniard was his team's hero at Wembley as the Red Devils held Brighton to a 0-0 draw before winning 7-6 on penalties.
As it turned out, De Gea did not actually save the decisive penalty which Solly March sent over the bar, but he made four top-draw saves during a tense 120 minutes in which Brighton often looked the better side but lacked a killer instinct.
Victor Lindelof kept his nerve to clinch victory for United and set up the first-ever FA Cup final between the Red Devils and Manchester City.
By doing so, United matched Arsenal's record of reaching 21 FA Cup finals, and they will now be aiming to win their second domestic cup under Erik ten Hag.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Wembley…
GettyWINNER: David de Gea
Football's history is littered with examples of fine goalkeepers who were eventually swallowed by their own mistakes and self-doubt.
Iker Casillas was forced to leave Real Madrid two years after being dropped by Jose Mourinho and was never the same at Porto. Loris Karius never recovered from his Champions League final embarrassment in Kiev. Joe Hart was forced out by Pep Guardiola and it was all downhill from there.
De Gea had a horrific night at the Sanchez Pizjuan, playing his part in all the goals of United's 3-0 surrender to Sevilla. But at Wembley, he showed the psyche of a world-class player, redeeming himself for his suspect kicking by demonstrating his undeniable qualities as a shot stopper.
His first act was to tip away Alexis Mac Allister's dangerous free-kick, and in the second half he made acrobatic stops from Julio Enciso and March. Right before the shootout, he made a brave save with his foot to stop Kaoru Mitoma.
And he was happy to acknowledge his problems with passing out from the back, pumping the ball away to safety whenever he was under pressure.
The Spaniard still might not be United's best long-term solution in goal and there is a strong argument against renewing his contract.
But he is still capable of match-winning performances like this, and after the week he has had, that says a lot about his mentality.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: United's misfiring forwards
If De Gea was outstanding at one end, United's forwards left a lot to be desired down the other.
Anthony Martial did almost nothing of note, sending his one chance woefully over the bar when he had other options. The Frenchman also lacked pace and energy and his passing was sloppy, bungling more than one promising move.
Antony was also disappointing. The Brazilian made a few dangerous runs against Brighton, but time and time again he made the wrong decision. He opted for a soft shot straight into Robert Sanchez when Bruno Fernandes was screaming for the ball and after running through Brighton's defence he made a botched pass to Martial.
Marcus Rashford performed best of the three starting forwards and was close to grabbing the winner just before full-time, only to be thwarted by a fine Sanchez save. He also flashed a shot just wide in extra-time after a storming run, but the England forward was almost anonymous in the first half.
Against an imperious Man City defence in the final, United's attackers will need to be a lot sharper if they are to have any hope of winning.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka
De Gea did not perform the only resurrection at Wembley. But while the Spaniard's reputation had only plummeted three days previously, Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka had been written off long ago.
Wan-Bissaka was widely expected to leave Old Trafford last summer and did not manage to start a Premier League game under Erik ten Hag until January.
Lindelof, meanwhile, has only started six league games under the Dutchman and is the club's fourth-choice centre-back.
Wan-Bissaka's recovery began a few months back, and has slowly but surely won the battle with Diogo Dalot as the manager's first-choice right back.
This was his graduation, an almost flawless display against one of the most exciting attacks in the Premier League.
Lindelof had a more understated performance but was just as effective, always keeping tight to his marker and making sure that whenever he chose to dive in, he won the ball, unless he was making a tactical foul.
The Swede was calm and comfortable on the ball and under pressure, in contrast with how Harry Maguire has looked in recent weeks.
And when the pressure of taking the crucial penalty rested on his shoulders, he slotted it home with power and precision.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Solly March
Poor old Solly March.
No-one has contributed to more Brighton goals this season than the midfielder, and he had scored three and provided three assists in his previous seven matches.
But he will be hugely disappointed with himself for skying his penalty, especially as De Gea had been unable to get a hand on any of the previous six Brighton spot-kicks.
He had another decent opportunity to score during the match, and while De Gea did well to get low and parry his shot, March might also feel that he could have done better with that attempt.
But he cannot and should not be painted as the villain in Brighton's courageous performance. Someone has to win a shootout, and it only takes one player to miss.