The Spaniard was culpable for Chelsea's equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, parrying a long-range Antonio Rudiger shot which let Marcos Alonso steal in and cancel out Juan Mata's opener on his 31st birthday.

De Gea made a fine save from Gonzalo Higuain in the dying seconds but the major talking point was his latest blunder, following on from mistakes against Manchester City in midweek and Barcelona earlier this month.

United's hopes of a top-four Premier League finish are out of their hands with this result though manager Solskjaer, who publicly backed De Gea before this weekend, was loathe to place too much blame on his custodian.

"He's been in the spotlight for the right reasons for so long, now he's going through a period where he probably feels he could have done better," Solskajer said.

"I don't have any worries about him because he's a strong character.

"Of course I'll sit down and speak to David as I've done when he's played well. But he's not the reason why we're in the sixth position at the moment.

"You cannot say there is any complacency, David is not the type to sit down and be complacent. He is a competitor and he wants to be the best.

"David knows he could have done better with the goal, there's no reason to hide that, but there's no chance any of us will point fingers because he's saved us so many times."

United lie three points behind the fourth-placed Blues with two games remaining - although both teams and Arsenal have endured indifferent form of late.

On the point earned, which keeps them in pole position to qualify for next season's Champions League, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said: "The draw is not so much important for us because with the 1-1 here, we have to win the last two matches, otherwise we are at risk with the goal difference."

Australian Associated Press