David de Gea produced a Man of the Match performance as nine-man Fiorentina qualified for the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, beating Hungarian side Puskas Academia in a dramatic penalty shootout. It was the 33-year-old's second appearance in 18 months after leaving Manchester United in 2022. But while one could be forgiven for expecting him to take time to get back to speed, it appears he has fit right in to life in Italy.
Although faced with an uphill battle from the offset, with the Serie A side having three players sent off , including Lucas Martinez Quarta, who was given a straight red card in extra time, even when he wasn't on the pitch, the Spaniard came up trumps, just a week after a disastrous debut performance against the same opposition. His first match after leaving Manchester United in 2023 did not go to plan. David de Gea's Heroics During his time at Man United, De Gea did not have the best record when it came to saving penalties, facing 33 spot-kicks in the Premier League and stopping only four.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: At one point during his tenure at Old Trafford, the Spanish goalkeeper went nine years without saving a penalty, finally breaking his drought by stopping Mark Noble's attempt in a 2-1 win against West Ham in 2021. Needless to say, his debut for Fiorentina was one that only exacerbated concerns over how well he could perform after a career break, too. De Gea conceded two goals in the opening 12 minutes against the European minnows.