David de Gea has suddenly transformed into a penalty specialist at new club Fiorentina, saving TWO penalties in the same game against AC Milan.
At Manchester United, the former Spain international once went seven years without saving a penalty in the Premier League before ending the duct with a last-gap save to deny West Ham captain Mark Noble.
He received huge criticism for failing to make a single save in the 2021 Europa League final shoot-out against Villarreal.
But after a year out following his release from United, De Gea has been in fine form and came up with a pair of penalty saves.
In first half stoppage time, De Gea guessed right to deny Theo Hernandez’ left-footed strike from 12 yards.
And he then replicated his heroics in the second half, this time diving to the opposite side to deny former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham with a strong one-handed save.
It is De Gea’s third penalty save for La Viola, having sent them to the Conference League with a key stop in the qualifying shoot-out triumph against Puskas Akademia.
Mike Maignan, De Gea’s opposite number, also proved his worth from the spot – with the Frenchman keeping out Moise Kean earlier on.
Former Milan star Yacine Adli put Fiorentina 1-0 up before Christian Pulisic equalised on the hour mark.
Albert Gudmundsson bagged Fiorentina’s second to make it 2-1 at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Somehow, De Gea’s two penalty saves was notthe most produced by a former Premier League shotstopper in a game on Sunday.
Paulo Gazzaniga, who played for Southampton and Spurs, was on fire for Girona in La Liga.
Image: Getty
Playing against Athletic Club, the Argentine made a hat-trick of penalty saves in the same game from three different players.
He thwarted Alex Berenguer, Inaki Williams and Ander Herrera – the final stop coming after a VAR check ruled he had come off his line.
Girona won the clash 2-1 in the 99th minute courtesy of a penalty converted by Cristhian Stuani.
Featured Image Credit: TNT Sports
Topics: David De Gea, Manchester United, Fiorentina