Aston Villa 0-3 United: David De Gea breaks Manchester United record

Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - July 9, 2020. Manchester United's David de Gea during the warm-up before the match. [REUTERS/Andrew Boyers]

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea moved past legendary Peter Schmeichel on Thursday to become the overseas player with most appearances.

De Gea played for Man United for the 399th time when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side travelled to Aston Villa in the Premier League, a match they won 3-0 at Villa Park.

The winning moment saw de Gea move beyond another keeper in Schmeichel in the club's all-time list. The 29-year-old joined United from Atletico Madrid in 2011.

The Spanish keeper remains a long way behind Ryan Giggs, the man with the most United appearances (963)  regardless of nationality.

The keeper also moved to second in the all-time appearance list for United goalkeepers - bettered only by Alex Stepney (539 games) – and became the overseas player (non-UK and Ireland) to have represented the Reds most often.

United boss Solskjaer on Wednesday stressed that de Gea has been the best goalkeeper for the last ten seasons.

The shot-stopper has been under criticism especially from last season when he made notable errors in several high-stake matches.

Some high-profile mistakes, including a calamitous error in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham, have led to questions over the Spain international's future as number one, especially with Dean Henderson thriving on loan at Sheffield United and decent performances from Argentina’s Sergio Romero when called upon.