Former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek scored his first goal in more than two years as Girona lost 3-2 at home to Feyenoord in the Champions League yesterday.
The Dutchman moved to the Catalan club after failing to impress at Old Trafford, after scoring only two goals in 62 appearances.
The 27-year-old’s last official strike came in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final game in charge in a 4-1 loss to Watford in November 2021.
He is certainly finding game time easier to come by in Girona as last night’s match was his sixth of the season and second in Europe.
He had already created one goal in the league and added to his tally of goal contributions with last night’s strike.
In an exciting match, Feyenoord were 2-1 up after 72 minutes but after some great work by Arnaut Danjuma down the left-hand side, he teed up the former United man who made no mistake.
Van de Beek poked a first-time finish with his right foot past Timon Wellenreuther to give his side hope of a first Champions League win.
It was not to be, however, as the Eredivisie side grabbed a late winner in the 79th minute of play.
He was naturally ecstatic and wildly celebrated his strike in front of an adoring home crowd, savouring their first-ever game at home in European competition.
Just look at how much it means 🥹
Donny van de Beek scores his first goal since in over two years to level the game up!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Pao0WOnrGS
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 2, 2024
He certainly has history in this competition as he came to the attention of the footballing world in the 2018/2019 season when he scored a semi-final goal against Tottenham Hotspur as Ajax were seconds from reaching the Champions League final.
Van de Beek played 82 minutes of the encounter, finishing with a 90% pass accuracy and one key pass to go alongside his goal.
Speaking before the game, the former United midfielder touched on his mental struggles during his time at United but due to the support of his family, found himself in a much better place now.
He was much more optimistic about the future as he claimed he was at a “fantastic club” and felt he had much to achieve in his new adventure.
The Dutchman could well be set to feature once again this weekend when Girona host Athletic Club this Sunday afternoon.
Featured image Nigel Roddis via Getty Images
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