David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd

David De Gea endured a horror debut for new club Fiorentina (Image: Getty)

David De Gea endured a tough debut for Fiorentina in his first competitive match in over a year. The former Manchester United goalkeeper has finally found a club but will want to quickly forget his first outing for the Italian side.

De Gea was left on the bench for Fiorentina’s Serie A opener against Parma last weekend, a game which ended in a 1-1 draw. The Spaniard was subsequently handed his debut in the Conference League play-off against Puskas Akademia.

But it was a night to forget for De Gea as he conceded three goals in a fairly embarrassing 3-3 draw with the Hungarian minnows. Puskas took a surprising 2-0 lead in Italy through Zsolt Nagy’s penalty and a goal from Mikael Soisalo.

Related articles Toney signs as INEOS strike £91m double deal - Man Utd’s dream final week Man Utd have Manuel Ugarte concerns despite medical being booked

Riccardo Sottil, Lucas Quarta and Moise Kean all scored for Fiorentina to hand them what seemed a saving-face comeback, albeit a nonetheless positive one heading into the away leg in Hungary. But Wojchiech Golla struck a dramatic equaliser in the 89th minute to condemn De Gea and his colleagues to a hugely disappointing draw.

function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.setAttribute('src','https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=114291&vp_content=plembed3e7arguyxmsj&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v114291');document.getElementById('ovp-primis').appendChild(el)} window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v114291"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}});window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',()=>{setTimeout(()=>{if(typeof flagTcfLoaded!=='undefined'&&flagTcfLoaded===!0){loadOvpScript() ExpressApp.Log('[Load] OVP flagTcfLoaded',new Date())}else{document.addEventListener("tcfLoaded",()=>{loadOvpScript() ExpressApp.Log('[Load] OVP tcfLoaded',new Date())})}},1500)})

Fiorentina boss Raffaele Palladino was furious with his players, saying: “It was a bad start, that goes without saying, and it was honestly inexplicable. We made errors I don’t even see in training sessions, they were big mistakes to go 2-0 down.

“Then we did well to stay in the game, open it up with Riccardo before the break and I liked the attitude of the second half, we had a very different approach, hunger and turned it around. The regret is conceding a goal on a set play when a player was off the field injured, but we still shouldn’t have conceded it.

David De Gea conceded three goals in his Fiorentina debut (Image: Getty) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

“There is a lot that needs improvement, we still don’t have a clear identity and are fragile. This is the situation, we need to analyse everything and recognise we need to start with the right attitude.”

De Gea has finally found a home after a year out of football. Still only 33, the shot-stopper failed to locate a new club that he felt was right for him after leaving United on a free transfer in June 2023.

He spent 12 years at Old Trafford, making 545 appearances, but Erik ten Hag wanted to sign a goalkeeper more adept with his feet. Andre Onana was acquired by the Red Devils after De Gea’s departure.

David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd

David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd

David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd

David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd

David De Gea left red-faced on return to football 446 days after last game with Man Utd