Manchester United striker Michael Owen has come out in support of under fire goalkeeper David De Gea by saying that the press are too quick to dismiss the Spaniard.

David De Gea arrived at Manchester United for around £ 18 million from Atletico Madrid in the summer. Since then, he has become subject to many criticisms for the huge number of goals he has let in mainly due to clangers.

Even though David De Gea has been an extremely good shot stopper, he has struggled when it comes to crosses like every other foreigner playing in England for the first few months.

As a result, Sir Alex Ferguson has resorted to utilising backup keeper Andreas Lindegaard for most of the matches. David De Gea was once again at fault for the two goals Manchester United conceded in the match against Liverpool.

The fourth-round FA Cup match with Liverpool did not feature Andreas Lindegaard, who has been ruled out for up to 6 weeks. David De Gea found himself in the starting line-up after a long gap and was subjected to intense criticism by the media following the two goals they conceded in the most easiest of fashions.

The latest online betting now makes Anders Lindegaard United's first-choice goalkeeper, with the expensiveley recruited De Gea left on the subs bench.

However, striker Michael Owen has said that David De Gea is not really responsible for the loss at Liverpool.

"Admittedly he has made a couple of mistakes this season but listening to some people you would think he had a nightmare yesterday. I'm not having either goal was his fault. The problem is, once you get labelled, mud sticks and now any tiny mistake is magnified," Michael Owen said after the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

Manchester United will be taking on Liverpool once again in the league on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if De Gea will start the match.