Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has defended David De Gea over criticism of fluffing his lines in the Premier League match against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Chelsea equalised just before half-time, with Marcos Alonso pouncing when goalkeeper De Gea spilled Antonio Rudiger’s long-range effort.

But Juan Mata would not want to listen to the critics of the Spain international, pointing, rather, to his past heroics for the Red Devils in the past.

“David is unquestionable for me,” Mata, the Reds’ goalscorer against Chelsea, told Sky Sports after the game.

“His levels have been fantastic for this club. He has been the best player over the last years. The amount of points that he has saved us is incredible.

“We all have good and bad moments throughout our careers, but, for me, the important thing is how we react and he’s determined to react positively, to do what he does best, which is being the best.

“I have 100 per cent confidence in him – we all have. Today he is not happy, we are not happy, but tomorrow morning he will come back to training with the best attitude as always.

“I honestly believe he is one of the best in the world.

“I make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, but you are a goalkeeper and when you make a mistake it is probably a goal and that’s very difficult for them.

“But he has a strong mentality and he will save many goals in the next games and, again, he has been the best for us. He has my full confidence, and the team’s and the manager’s, and the confidence of everyone who loves Manchester United.

On the Top-four race? “It’s very difficult. “We are depending on other teams. We have to try and win the last two games and let’s see what happens.

“Obviously, today we needed three points because it is Chelsea. They play very good football and are fighting with us for the top four. It was a bit disappointing, the result. We need to move on and try and finish the season the best we can.

“We wanted to win and we needed to win, so we are disappointed. I thought we had a good first half: we scored, we created chances.

“We’ve done incredibly well over the last months to get there. We will try until the end, but today we needed a win because Chelsea are fighting with us.“

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