You’re a Man Utd superfan if you can remember the three players missing from David de Gea’s debut 12 years ago
YOU are a Manchester United super fan if you can remember the three players missing from David de Gea’s debut 12 years ago.
The Spanish goalkeeper confirmed his exit from the club on Saturday after his contract expired last week.
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But how much do you remember his debut in August 2011?
Three players were removed from the above line-up from De Gea’s first game against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
United trailed their city rivals 2-0 at half-time at Wembley before winning again.
One of the missing players scored to put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side back in the game before Nani equalized minutes later.
The Portuguese winger then equalized in the fourth minute of added time to secure a dramatic win.
Before scrolling down to the answer, can you identify the players that have been removed from the lineup?
At right-back, Chris Smalling started for United and scored his side’s first goal of the game.
Smalling made 323 appearances and switched to central defense before being sold to Roma in 2020 after a successful loan.
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He remains with the Italian club and has become a key player for the Serie A side.
In midfield, Anderson acted alongside Michael Carrick.
The Brazilian won the Champions League with United but left the club in 2015 for Internacional on a free transfer.
Anderson ended his career in Turkey with Adana Demirspor and retired in 2019 at the age of 31.
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The last player missing is academy graduate Danny Welbeck, who has scored 29 goals in 142 appearances for the Red Devils.
Welbeck stayed at Old Trafford until 2014 when he was sold to Arsenal.
He has since worked for Watford and Brighton & Hove Albion where he is currently under contract until next summer.
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