David De Gea enjoys brilliant night for Spain, but Cesc Fabregas woes continue

Mixed fortuned for Premier League pair during Spain win over Ukraine

David De Gea and Cesc Fabregas among the Spain squad for their match with Ukraine (GETTY IMAGES)

David De Gea made his biggest statement yet that he must be considered the undisputed Spanish No 1 with his performance against Ukraine last night.

The Manchester United goalkeeper pulled off a string of brilliant saves to preserve his clean sheet in Spain's 1-0 win.

The result consolidated his nation's side at the top of their Euro 2016 qualification group.

De Gea was given the nod ahead of Porto's Iker Casillas in an experimental side. He fully justified the call by Vicente Del Bosque within the first 15 minutes with saves from Artem Kravets and Ruslan Rota. The unorthodox stop below left Ukraine, who must now try to qualify for next summer's tournament in France through the play-offs, in disbelief.

The evening wasn't so enjoyable to for Cesc Fabregas. The Chelsea midfielder was winning his 100th cap and had the chance to mark it with a goal only to see his penalty saved.

Fabregas was put off by a laser as he prepared to take the spot-kick only to then see his effort tipped over the bar. Remarkably, Fabregas has missed all four penalties he's taken for his country, excluding shoot-outs.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata were the other Premier League players to play a part in the match in Kiev that was watched by Jose Mourinho.