De Gea let Said Benrahma’s hopeful shot from 20 yards slip over his glove.
David De Gea’s slip loosened Manchester United’s grip on the final UEFA Champions League place as they were beaten 1-0 at West Ham.
De Gea let Said Benrahma’s promising 20-yard shot slide over his glove to condemn Erik Ten Hag’s side to back-to-back defeats.
They now sit just a point ahead of fast-promoting Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand.
But an eighth defeat on the road this season could be as costly for the visitors as it was priceless for West Ham, who climbed seven points above the relegation zone and are now surely safe.
De Gea’s night got off to an inauspicious start when his poor clearance flew to the feet of Declan Rice, whose drive into the area was cut short by a last-ditch effort from Wout Weghorst.
Marcus Rashford curled in for the visitors, while Bruno Fernandes and Antony poured low shots just wide.
Christian Eriksen’s effort also flew too high before Rashford cut into Thilo Kehrer and his shot hit the outside of the near post.
The goal came in the 29th minute and it’s not one De Gea wants to see again.
Benrahma had few options when driving forward with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw for company.
The Algerian tried his luck from 20 yards, but his shot lacked real threat and De Gea should have made a routine save.
But the ball seemed to spin away from the Spaniard as he tried to push it away and instead rolled almost apologetically into the net.
Ten of Haga’s men tried to hit straight back and Antony’s shot skimmed the heel of Nayef Aguerd before hitting the far post.
But the visitors had a lucky escape in the first half break when Benrahma broke through again.
De Gea punched away the winger’s initial shot and his attempt to turn the rebound back into the box clearly hit Lindelof’s hand.
The Swedish defender did better than his keeper but the appeal was overturned and VAR apparently saw nothing wrong.
United got away with another after the break when De Gea went down when challenged by Michail Antonio, the West Ham striker hooking the ball in only to be hauled off for a foul.
Weghorst had United’s first shot on target as the hour mark approached, a tame effort from the edge of the box that went straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
But West Ham, eager to put their relegation worries to bed and wait for the Europa League semi-finals, sensed something special and Tomas Soucek’s volley hit the post before the Czech midfielder’s header was ruled out for offside.
Fabianski produced late saves from Rashford and Anthony Martial but the Ten Hag’s side offered little in their 57th game of a grueling season that, along with Liverpool, may be catching up.
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