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

Despite being ranked better than the Hungarian representative, Fiorentina could only muster a 3-3 tie in the first leg in Italy. Experts rated Fiorentina higher than the less well-known Hungarian club in the second leg.

When Moise Kean scored the first goal in the 59th minute, “La Viola” showed what they were made of, applying pressure on the field. Fiorentina would have advanced if the score had stayed the same.

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.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina players all successfully took 5 penalty kicks, helping “La Viola” win a dramatic 5-4 victory in the penalty shootout.