- David de Gea had a nightmare debut with Fiorentina, conceding three goals
- The former United goalkeeper was mocked by some but applauded by others
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David de Gea had a tough start to the season at Fiorentina, conceding twice in the first 12 minutes against small European side Puskas Akademia.
Fiorentina had to come back from 2-0 down and eventually earned a 3-3 draw at home to Puskas AFC, Hungary’s third-best team, in the Europa Conference League play-offs.
For the former Manchester United goalkeeper, lifting the FA Cup at Wembley or returning the Premier League to Old Trafford is a long way off.
De Gea has been working hard to stay fit and signed for Fiorentina this summer, his first club since leaving United as a free agent in June 2023.
This was his first appearance in 446 days and the Spaniard had a tough time of it, conceding five shots on goal and three.
David de Gea had a nightmare start at Fiorentina, conceding twice in the first 12 minutes
They then conceded their third when Fiorentina drew 3-3 at home to modest Puskas Akademia.
To be fair to De Gea, facing a penalty just nine minutes into his first start for a new club is demanding, and he conceded it to Hungary’s Euro 2024 side Zsolt Nagy, though he did pitch in the right direction.
The next one was fired three minutes later.
Fiorentina came back from two goals down to take the lead, with Moise Kean giving the Italians the advantage after 75 minutes.
However, the visitors’ 89th-minute equaliser left a bitter taste in the mouth and left Fiorentina with work to do to qualify for the group stage.
They have suffered plenty of disappointments over the past two seasons, losing Europa Conference League finals to West Ham and Olympiacos.
Fans were quick to jeer De Gea, 33, who, it must be said, has achieved more than most in the game, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, two EFL Cups and two Europa Leagues, among various personal honours.
‘De Gea has never changed, in 11 minutes his brother has already scored 2 goals,’ wrote one user on X.
“Wow, my favourite goalkeeper David De Gea has finally managed to sign for a club! Let’s see how he fares in his debut against the Hungarian Plumbers,” wrote another.
Fans had varying levels of respect for the former Manchester United goalkeepers.
Others were quick to jump to his defence. “De Gea’s revisionism stinks, they just ignore that he was the best goalkeeper in the league for five years. Only Ronaldo has won the Player of the Year award (four times) as much as De Gea,” began one.
“He’s been in bad shape since the 2018 World Cup, but let’s not rewrite history. David De Gea is a club legend.”
Another said: “He did well. He made excellent saves. In fact, he should be Fiorentina’s number one.”
