Former Manchester United ace shows ‘world class’ as club praised for ‘brave’ signing

David De Gea famously failed to save one of Villarreal’s 11 penalties during the Europa League final defeat in 2020. During his long career at Manchester United, De Gea only saved seven of 50 penalties he encountered. outside penalty shootouts.

A paltry success rate of 14 percent. That was one of the reasons why Man United chose to release De Gea when his contract expired in the summer of 2022.

And while it would be plainly wrong to suggest his replacement isn’t proving to be an upgrade in this area – Andre Onana’s denial of Cameron Archer against Southampton cemented the Cameroonian’s reputation as a ‘penalty killer’ – De Gea’s unexpected emergence as a specialist in the penalty area itself does little to dispel the idea that leaving Old Trafford means freeing yourself from some kind of voodoo curse.

David de Gea ‘world class’ as former Manchester United CEO shines at Fiorentina

De Gea gambled twice right to keep out both Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham as Fiorentina lit a fire in the Raffaele Palladini era on Sunday.

And make no mistake: neither was an easy save. Both shots were low, hard and close to the corner.

De Gea – who arguably made an even better stop when he tipped Samu Chukwueze’s effort wide and burst through bodies late on – repays the faith of a Fiorentina side who offered him a route back into the game after more than 12 months on his own training.

“Italian football may not have understood the importance of his arrival,” reporter Luca Calamai told Tuttomercatoweb, praising Daniele Prade for his ambition and belief in the experienced Spaniard.

“The first people who didn’t understand were the Florentines. He arrived quietly, with the label of a pensioner. -(De Gea) is a world-class player.

“Prade deserves many compliments. He brought in a real number one

“The goalkeeping part was extraordinary,” says Dino Zoff, perhaps the greatest Italian gloveman of all time. “Of course it is also the attackers who miss penalties, but De Gea was good. The two shots were difficult to save and he reached both. Really good.

“Fiorentina were very good and this match could be a turning point for the season.”

Fiorentina was praised for its leap of faith with David de Gea

Former Man United teammate Juan Mata praised De Gea after his heroics and mocked those who claimed the former Spain international was ‘done’ at the top level.

That’s the story of De Gea’s time in Florence so far. A man who proved that rumors of his downfall were grossly exaggerated, even though both De Gea and Fiorentina still have a long way to go before they can silence the critics for good.

“It is still too early to make definitive judgments. The match against Milan showed that Fiorentina has courage, courage and the ability to suffer. And then they had a goalkeeper at mercy,” Carlos Freitas, one of Prade’s La Viola predecessors, told Radio Firenze Viola.

“Saving two penalties is not easy, even for De Gea. We rely on this again, on the undoubted quality of the goalkeeper and on the team’s ability to suffer in the last minutes of the match.

“You have to be brave to make a choice like (signing De Gea). The player’s career speaks for itself; from the Spanish national team to Atletico Madrid, and especially Manchester United.

“However, it is not easy to hire a character who has not played for a year. It takes courage. It wasn’t an obvious choice. Knowing that the fans were demanding and wanted answers right away, it was a gamble.

“So congratulations.”

Related topics