David De Gea's leap

At the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, in the fifty-second minute of play, Sergi Roberto shook his head and muttered, while all his teammates reached up to pull their hair back. They're young at Como, almost all of them enjoying flowing locks. Sergi Roberto is 33, has a lot of hair, and has seen even more on the pitch. For twelve years he wore the Barcelona jersey, for twelve years he played in the Champions League. Then, in August 2024, he ended up on the shores of Lake Como because Cesc Fabregas remembered that strong young midfielder who played with him at Blaugrana and convinced him to join him at Como.

Sergi Roberto is not a footballer who has ever scored many goals, for the simple fact that he usually passes the ball, not kicks it.

In the fifty-second minute of a Fiorentina-Como match that still had the scoreline at 1-0, Sergi Roberto thought, believed, he had made a good shot. And that shot deserved the joy of a goal. Also because his better teammate, Nico Paz , had set him up with a great chance. All he needed was a good shot. And that beautiful shot he had succeeded.

David De Gea , however, disagreed. Or rather, he'd seen it too, though not very clearly, as a teammate was standing in front of him, partially blocking his view. He and the Spanish midfielder even agreed that it was a good shot. One of those powerful, precise ones that nine times out of ten end up in the back of the net because they're aimed under the crossbar.

But the Fiorentina goalkeeper didn't want to collect the ball over the goal line. He didn't want to level the game and face another week filled with criticism and uncertainty. So he leaped to the left and tapped the ball with his right hand, preventing it from entering the net. After all, that's what David De Gea is paid to do: to make saves, to prevent his opponents from celebrating a goal.

The Spaniard is known for making certain saves. He's even made better ones, taking direct shots into the top corner, and sometimes saving the unsaveable. Sure, he occasionally gets something wrong, like on Como's second goal, the one that made it 2-1, but he can't always be flawless. It's tough having to be perfect when everything in front of you is imperfect, sometimes even lame, like Fiorentina's defense for the 2025-2026 season.

1. David De Gea in the 52nd minute of Fiorentina-Como 1-2 - 5 points

2. Arijanet Murić in the 66th minute of Inter-Sassuolo 2-1 - 3 points

3. Elia Caprile in the 54th minute of Lecce-Cagliari 1-2 - 1 point

1. David De Gea (Fiorentina), 9p.

2. Arijanet Murić (Sassuolo), 8p

3. Wladimiro Falcone and Nicola Leali, 5p

5. Ivan Provedel, 4p

6. Mile Svilar, 3p

7. Elia Caprile, 2p

This is the fourth episode of Guanti sporchi , a football-narrative divertissement about the Serie A number ones and the save that somehow made the football weekend better, at least from the point of view of that minority who dress differently from the others on the pitch.

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