‘Never been in this situation before’ – David de Gea on ‘something else’ Cristiano Ronaldo after 700th club goal

Ronaldo was initially left on the bench for Sunday’s victory at Goodison Park, but made a telling impact after replacing the injured Anthony Martial, and De Gea expressed his awe at the Portugal captain’s professionalism.

“He’s never been in this situation before, but the way he trains every day 100 per cent, and the way he takes care of his mind and body is unbelievable. It’s something else,” he told BT Sport.

“This is why he scored the winner today, he does a lot for the team. It’s not an easy time for him, but he showed he’s a great player.”

The Red Devils’ shot-stopper also spoke in general about the win at Goodison Park, and stressed the need to continue trusting the process under Erik ten Hag.

“We had to match their intensity and the way they fought for every ball. We did a great job today, especially in the last 10 minutes, when they put big guys on the pitch. We fought until the end and it was a massive three points for us.

“It’s massive for our confidence, especially after the defeat against Manchester City. We showed our qualities, and now we have to look forward to our next games.

“It’s part of football. Sometimes when you win, it’s easy to say ‘this team is very good, the players are playing very well’, all of these things.

“Sometimes you have bad periods, but you have to be focused, keep training hard and believing in yourself and the team. That’s what we are doing. The manager, staff and players keep believing.

“It’s a privilege to be part of this team and fight like we fought today, like a team. It was great to be in goal and see the team fighting for the three points.”

De Gea also added to the plaudits for Casemiro, who recovered well from his mistake which led to Everton’s opener with an assured man-of-the-match display in midfield.

“He has massive experience and has won everything. He’s very calm on the pitch and after the mistake for the first goal, he won the ball all the time and recovered it a lot. The experience he has is massive and it helps the team a lot.”