David de Gea’s incredible performance helped nine-man Fiorentina win dramatically in the second leg of the final Conference League play-off round.

David de Gea continued to make incredible saves in regular time, then shone again in the penalty shootout, helping Fiorentina overcome Puskas Akademia.

De Gea led Fiorentina through the Conference League play-off round

In the first leg in Italy, Fiorentina, despite being rated higher than the Hungarian representative, only managed a 3-3 draw. In the second leg, Fiorentina were rated higher by experts than the lesser-known Hungarian team.

“La Viola” materialized their efforts to pressure the field with Moise Kean’s opening goal in the 59th minute. If this score had remained the same, Fiorentina would have advanced.

However, in the 94th minute, Luca Ranieri of Fiorentina received a second yellow card and was sent off. Just 3 minutes later, the home team Puskas Akademia was awarded a penalty and from the 11m mark, Nagy made no mistake to equalize 1-1, bringing the match into extra time.

7 minutes into the first extra time, young defender Pietro Comuzzo continued to receive a second yellow card, causing Fiorentina to play with only 9 men.

The huge disadvantage in terms of numbers almost caused Fiorentina to collapse in extra time. However, De Gea’s excellent performance helped the Italian representative bring the match into a penalty shootout.

De Gea made at least two unbelievable saves in extra time, under great pressure from the home team. Throughout the match, De Gea made 8 saves (6 in the penalty area).

In the nerve-wracking penalty shootout, the Spanish goalkeeper dived accurately to block a shot from Roland Szolnoki in the fourth round, creating a decisive turning point.