'His stop-stopping is second to none' - Giggs hails De Gea after Real Madrid draw

Giggs hails De Gea after Real Madrid draw

Feb 14, 2013 7:05:00 AM

The 22-year-old produced a fine display to thwart the Liga giants in a game of end-to-end football, and the veteran believes the tie is balanced "50-50" heading into the second leg

By Greg Stobart in Madrid

Ryan Giggs has praised "second to none" David De Gea after the Manchester United goalkeeper’s man-of-the-match display in the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

The former Atletico Madrid shot-stopper returned to his hometown and made a number of key saves in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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"David has had to make some good saves, it’s good for him to come back to Madrid and put on a performance like that," Giggs said after the game.

"He’s a top keeper and his shot-stopping is second to none. He showed that tonight. There was a lot of pressure on him coming back to Madrid and he produced the goods.

"Usually, if a keeper makes a mistake it’s a goal but if a centre-forward misses an open goal they get other chances. But he’s produced a great performance tonight."

United took the lead through Danny Welbeck’s header in the 20th minute before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised with a header of his own against his former club.

Ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford on March 5, Giggs believes the tie remains firmly balanced and feels Sir Alex Ferguson’s side showed in Madrid that they have the strength of character to book a place in the quarter-finals.

"I think it’s 50-50 because you’ve got to recognise the quality they’ve got," Giggs added. "We’ve got to put pressure on them and put in a good performance, and the crowd will be behind us.

"When you come to a place like this, you’re going to be under pressure and you’re going to be under the cosh.

"If you’re going to win the Champions League, you have to put on performances like that, defend well and win the ball. Perhaps we could have held on to the ball a little bit better but overall we’re quite pleased."

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