De Gea Keen To Repay Fans

David De Gea admits Manchester United were unfortunate to be paired with holders Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals but says he and his team-mates are determined to repay United fans for their continued support.

Bayern Munich are the bookies’ favourites to win the tournament again this year and secured their place in the last eight with a 3-1 aggregate win over Arsenal. Domestically, they are currently on a 50-game unbeaten run, well clear at the top of the Bundesliga and are still on course to repeat last season’s Treble heroics.

De Gea, who won the fan-voted Man of the Match award for his performance in United’s second-leg victory against Olympiacos on Wednesday, says beating Bayern will be a tough task but not one that’s beyond the Reds.

“You’ve got to be honest and say we haven’t been too fortunate in the draw,” he told ManUtd.com. “I suppose everyone would agree that they are probably the strongest outfit left in the tournament.

“But we knew that was always going to be possible. You’re always going to get a tough team at this stage of the competition, but the main thing is that we go into these games with confidence.

“We face them here and away from home with confidence. We’ll fight really, really hard and really go for it. That’s what we’ve got to do. One team’s got to win.”

United’s fans played a big part in helping the Reds overturn a 2-0 deficit in the last 16, according to De Gea, and the Spanish stopper is keen to repay the supporters’ faith when Bayern come to town.

“The fans were great the other night against Olympiacos,” he said. “We always know that on big Champions League nights they are with us and that strength we drew from their support and that push they gave us was very, very important.

“We know it will be the same against Bayern Munich – they will be there for us. That support that we get is vital.

“When the stadium is full and you hear the crowd singing your name it’s a lovely feeling and it’s something you’re really grateful for and thankful for. We’ll be really pleased if we can repay that support. That would be great.”