Why De Gea was checking his towel during Man Utd's penalty shootout against Brighton revealed

During Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton, fans became curious about David De Gea's actions as he was seen inspecting his towel between penalties.

On Sunday afternoon, Manchester United advanced to the final in a highly dramatic fashion at Wembley.

After a tense and thrilling 120-minute game where neither team could score, penalties were necessary to determine the winner.

Solly March ended up being the antagonist of the match as he missed his penalty by kicking it over the bar. Victor Lindelof then secured the win for Manchester United by taking a well-executed spot-kick.

Erik ten Hag's team will go up against Manchester City, their local rivals, in an exciting final, as Pep Guardiola's squad secured their spot on Saturday by defeating Sheffield United 3-0.

Nevertheless, during the shootout, there was an intriguing subplot involving De Gea that caught the attention of the spectators.

The eagle eyed could spot a hidden piece of paper inside inside Dea Gea's towel, which the 32-year-old looked to be studying prior to each penalty.

While it is not certain what De Gea was reading during the shootout, history would suggest it was notes on Brighton's penalty takers.

The 32-year-old did something similar in 2021, when United lost 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final, according to Sky Sports journalist Angelo Mangiante.

On that occasion, he was unable to get a hand to any penalties, but the Spaniard will take all the plaudits this time round, following an excellent performance between the sticks at Wembley.

When quizzed on his penalty tactics after the game, De Gea explained: “We prepared the penalties as always, I tried to put pressure on each of their takers. Our team took perfect penalties so we are delighted we are in the final.

“It is a long way until the final but it will be a big game against one of the best teams in the world. But we have shown that we can beat them. There is a lot of time before then, so we must finish in top four first before giving everything to the final," he added.