Chris Smalling hails Manchester United teammate David de Gea

Manchester United centre-back Chris Smalling has heaped praise on goalkeeper David de Gea following the 1-0 win away at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

The hosting Merseysiders dominated much of the contest at Anfield, but they were unable to find a way beyond United's Spanish keeper, who made four saves over the course of 90 minutes.

Speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Smalling said of De Gea: "He pulled off great saves and his distribution, especially with those balls to Wazza (Wayne Rooney) and Jesse [Lingard] further forward, was terrific. That set us up on the attack.

"He is a good shot-stopper and a good organiser too. He is a very calm guy but on the pitch, he is very much talking to us as a unit and we know his game inside out. It's good to know that if we are beaten as a defence, we still have a great chance to keep the ball out."

From his 18 Premier League outings this term, De Gea has kept eight clean sheets.