Once again, there has been a lot of attention to David de Gea’s performance as Fiorentina defeated Celje 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarterfinal. It’s also a good one, as anticipated, as the Spaniard keeps proving he has a few more miles to go before ending his career.
After his contract expired in July 2023, the 34-year-old left Manchester United, ending a 12-year career in which he made 545 appearances and set a club record of 190 clean sheets. Everyone agreed that it was time for the goalie to go on, and after delaying his career for more than a year, one may assume De Gea was on the verge of retiring.
However, he will believe that he can play for a little while longer after recording 10 clean sheets in 28 Serie A games this season. Among his finest efforts were a Man of the Match performance in just his second club appearance earlier in the season and a double save against AC Milan at the San Siro. The outing on Thursday night can work well with them.
David de Gea’s ‘Monstrous’ Europa Conference League Performance
The display has drawn the praise of many
De Gea completed five of his long balls, made three saves in his ninety minutes in Slovenia, including two from shoots within the box, and was perfect in both of his run-out attempts. As you can see below, he also made one save in the closing seconds of the win:
In response to the display, the official Europa Conference League X account shared a photo of the goalie with the remark, “That De Gea save.” His colleagues showered their loyal number one with adulation following the victory.
Rolando Mandragora responded to TMW’s question about whether the Fiorentina players are growing accustomed to De Gea’s lightning-fast standards in goal:
We don’t grow accustomed to it. He mimics the horrific things we witness during training in the games. We are thrilled to have him on our team; he is a fantastic goalie.
“A champion, a phenomenon.” “Fundamental for us, he gives us experience and confidence, he’s our great custodian, and we’ll hold on to him,” manager Raffaele Palladino told the outlet about his respect for De Gea. He supports our defenders and extended a helping hand to us today as well.
Was it a smart move on the part of Man United’s management to allow the Spaniard depart so easily? The fans disagree, as De Gea was doing the exact opposite when Andre Onana gave up in the last minute of their Europa League encounter against Lyon.
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