Fiorentina Make Brutal Decision on David de Gea After Nightmare Debut
David de Gea’s return to football has gotten off to a rocky start, and it seems like Fiorentina have already made up their minds about his role in the team. The former Manchester United goalkeeper made his debut for the Italian side on Thursday, but it was a night to forget as they drew 3-3 with Hungarian side Puskas Akademia in the UEFA Conference League play-off.
De Gea was beaten from the penalty spot by Zsolt Nagy after just eight minutes, and things only got worse from there. He was powerless to stop Mikael Soisalo from doubling the away side’s lead just four minutes later. While Fiorentina thought they had completed a dramatic turnaround with three goals of their own, Wojchiech Golla scored a late equaliser to leave the Italian side with plenty of work to do in the second leg next week.
Despite producing a spectacular late save to prevent his side from losing on the night, manager Raffaele Palladino has decided to bench De Gea for Fiorentina’s Serie A clash with Venezia on Sunday afternoon. Instead, Pietro Terracciano will keep his place between the sticks after starting La Viola’s league opener against Parma last weekend.
It’s a brutal decision, but one that suggests De Gea may not be the first-choice goalkeeper for Fiorentina in the league. The Spaniard was hoping to make his Serie A debut for his new club, but it seems like he’ll have to wait a little longer. His next appearance will likely come in the second leg against Puskas Akademia in Budapest on Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether De Gea will remain second-choice goalkeeper in the league and act as Fiorentina’s ‘cup keeper’. One thing is for sure, though – he’ll need to improve significantly if he wants to regain his spot in the starting lineup.
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