Romero's Super Saves

Extracting positives from Thursday’s Europa League defeat to FC Midtjylland is difficult, yet nobody can deny the excellent performance of Sergio Romero in the absence of his injured Manchester United team-mate David De Gea.

The Argentina international was called upon at the 11th hour, or literally with around 10 minutes to go until kick-off, when De Gea suffered a knee injury while warming up at the MCH Arena.

Despite the late notice - and having not played a senior game for United since the Capital One Cup clash with Middlesbrough on 28 October - Romero impressed many supporters with his sharp shot-stopping and admirable concentration levels amidst difficult playing circumstances in Denmark.

The summer signing made two saves in particular that caught the eye. The first was a remarkable stop with a strong left hand to prevent Kian Hansen’s powerful close-range header from crossing the line in just the 11th minute, when Michael Carrick followed up to clear any subsequent danger.

Romero later produced what was arguably an even better save in the second half when acrobatically diving to his left to push Paul Onuachu's head away from goal, before pouncing on the loose ball.

While Romero’s eighth appearance for United ultimately ended with defeat and disappointment, the 28-year-old can undoubtedly hold his head high following a strong display in goal and his confidence boosted ahead of possible run in the team if De Gea continues to be unavailable through injury.

De Gea's previous understudy Anders Lindegaard made his punditry debut for MUTV on Thursday night and the Danish goalkeeper, who left the club for West Bromwich Albion last summer and is currently on loan at Preston North End, paid tribute to Romero’s performance against the Superliga champions.

“He has done really well,” Lindegaard explained at half-time. “It is a terrible job to be a reserve goalkeeper in general and it is difficult to come on with short notice. You haven't had time to mentally prepare and probably physically as well, but he has done really well, made two really good saves, showed a bit of dominance in his box towards the end as well so he has made a strong impressive I think.”

Expanding on Romero's performance after the final whistle, Lindegaard continued to praise his fellow goalkeeper: "I am a bit envious to be honest. He made some really great saves and the two headers were fantastic, especially the second one. It is a really great save, he comes up quickly and recovers and ends up winning the ball. He did a great job, there's no doubt about it."