- David de Gea joined Fiorentina on a free transfer earlier this summer
- He made an excellent save to help his team beat Puskas Academia
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David de Gea saved several vital goals to help nine-man Fiorentina qualify for the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, beating Puskas Academia on penalties.
It was also a chaotic affair, with the Serie A side sending off three players, including Lucas Martinez Quarta, who was shown a red card in extra time despite not being on the pitch.
Both teams drew 3-3 in Florence last week, so Raffaele Palladino’s team travelled to Hungary to face Puskas. But it was De Gea’s heroics that secured them a place in this season’s European Championship.
During his time at Man United, De Gea was not the best player when it comes to saving penalties. In the Premier League, he conceded 33 penalties and saved four of them.
In fact, the Spanish goalkeeper went nine years without saving a penalty at one point during his time at Old Trafford, ending his drought by blocking Mark Noble’s shot during a 2-1 win over West Ham in 2021.
David de Gea made an epic save to help Fiorentina beat Puskas Academia on penalties
The goalkeeper didn’t have the best penalty record during his time at Manchester United
His previous save came in a 2-1 win against Everton in 2014, when he held off Leighton Baines.
The 33-year-old also endured a difficult start to life at the Serie A club after joining the Italian club on a free transfer earlier this summer.
In his debut in the first match against Puskas, Fiorentina conceded two goals in the first twelve minutes against the European top club, one of which came from a penalty.
It was De Gea’s first appearance in 446 days, but he looks set to quickly find his stride. In the penalty shootout, he made a spectacular save from defender Roland Szolnoki after the two teams could not be separated in extra time.
Fiorentina broke the deadlock in the second half thanks to a goal from Moise Keane and looked set to win the match.
De Gea has had a difficult start at Fiorentina after their 3-3 draw with Puskas last week
The goalkeeper had already been beaten from the penalty shootout once in the match, but was in the position where it mattered most in the shoot-out
But they allowed Puskas back into the game and awarded a penalty in the seventh minute of injury time.
De Gea was unable to stop Zsolt Nagy’s penalty, but the goalkeeper stepped up at just the right moment, diving into Szolnoki’s powerful spot-kick with both hands to give last season’s Conference League runners-up the win.