David de Gea played a pivotal role in securing a stunning victory for Fiorentina against AC Milan on Sunday, showcasing his talent with two incredible penalty saves.
With goals from Yacine Adli and Albert Gudmundsson, Fiorentina claimed all three points, while Milan was only able to respond with a solitary goal from Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic found the net in the 60th minute, equalizing after Adli’s first-half goal had given Fiorentina the lead. However, before this, both Tammy Abraham and Theo Hernández saw their penalties saved by the former Manchester United goalkeeper.
The encounter kicked off with Milan’s keeper Mike Maignan saving a penalty taken by Moise Kean in the 22nd minute, highlighting the tension and high stakes from the outset.
Adli’s goal came just 10 minutes before halftime with a low effort from the edge of the box that struck the far post before finding its way into the net.
Throughout the match, David de Gea’s exceptional performance was critical in Fiorentina’s 2-1 success over AC Milan.
The former Manchester United shot-stopper left spectators in awe with his remarkable penalty saves against AC Milan.
As the game progressed, Christian Pulisic volleyed in a flawless goal to draw Milan level. However, Gudmundsson’s strike in the 73rd minute restored Fiorentina’s lead.
The closing stages of a thrilling match saw Fiorentina manager Raffaele Palladino receive a red card for his heated protests, whilst Milan’s Hernandez echoed similar frustrations and was sent off in added time for confronting the referee.
In the aftermath, Fonseca shared his thoughts on the penalties awarded to both teams, expressing frustration: ‘I don’t like to talk about refereeing but this isn’t football. Football is about contact and a mere touch shouldn’t be enough to award a penalty.’ He continued, ‘Just a simple touch can lead to a penalty; we saw that this weekend as well. It makes everyone nervous, and that creates problems – this is football, not a circus.’
Interestingly, de Gea wasn’t the only former Premier League goalkeeper to shine this weekend, as ex-Spurs, Southampton, and Fulham keeper Paulo Gazzaniga also made headlines for his penalty-saving prowess.
Two AC Milan players, Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham, were both thwarted by de Gea during the match.
In an impressive display, Gazzaniga saved an astounding three penalties during a La Liga match between Girona and Athletic Bilbao, contributing to a 2-1 victory for Girona, whose winning goal came from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Gazzaniga also saved a penalty in a Champions League encounter on Wednesday, despite his team ultimately falling 3-2 to Feyenoord at home.