David de Gea reveals what Manchester United dressing room said at half-time vs Southampton
Casemiro was shown a red card in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Southampton at Old Trafford.
At halftime against Southampton, Manchester United’s players told each other that a win with 10 men was possible.
Casemiro was issued a straight red card in the 32nd minute against Southampton on Sunday, his second of the season, and will now serve a four-match suspension against Fulham, Newcastle, Brentford, and Everton.
United was anticipated to thrash Southampton, who are currently bottom of the Premier League, at Old Trafford, but Casemiro’s dismissal in the first half transformed the game’s complexion, and the points were shared.
Although the game ended goalless, both teams hit the crossbar, and De Gea claimed after the game that the message at half-time was to believe the game could still be won despite the sending-off.
“Of sure, that’s what we said at halftime,” De Gea replied when asked if the players thought they could win with ten men. “We knew it, so come on, defend well and we’d create some chances on the counter-attack.
“It was like this, we hit the post, and we had some excellent chances but like I say, it’s always challenging to play that long with one less player. Let’s keep going because we have some big games coming up and we need to refocus.
“He [Theo Walcott] had a couple of big chances and I helped the team with some saves. Of course, keeping a clean sheet in a difficult game is important, but I believe the entire team defended extremely well.”
De Gea was also questioned about the hectic fixture schedule, which he admitted is gradually wearing on the squad.
“I know, the number of games we’re playing is insane,” he added. “It’s tough, it appears simple, but playing every three days is difficult. The players are running a lot, and we don’t have much time to recover, but everyone is giving it their all.
“You see, every game we battle, try our hardest, and some games, like today, we lack one player, the players are a little tired, and we may lose some points, but the team is doing well, so let’s keep going.”
