Andre Onana’s Manchester United mistakes reel is growing ever longer as the goalkeeper had another night to forget in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League.
A ‘Welcome to Hell’ sign greeted the Red Devils supporters and team as they played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Galatasaray on match day 5 in Istanbul, and the United keeper was certainly feeling the heat after another error-strewn display.
The £47m signing from Inter was regarded as an upgrade on David de Gea, but Onana’s continued mistakes for Manchester United make it seem like very bad business.
Here at Sportlens, we analyse all of the Cameroonian’s mishaps in more detail and consider what the future holds at Old Trafford for the 27-year old.
Andre Onana’s Man United Mistakes
Andre Onana’s Manchester United mistakes actually began back in pre-season when he was beaten from 50 yards by Lens striker Florian Sotoca at Old Trafford. Granted, it was a fine strike but for Onana to get caught out like that was poor and it appears to have served as the catalyst for worse to come.
Onana’s Premier League debut was also memorable for all of the wrong reasons. In the dying embers of the lethargic 1-0 win over Wolves on match week 1 of the new campaign, Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic while failing to claim a cross. Somehow, the VAR didn’t intervene and a penalty wasn’t given. But it was so careless and needless of Onana to even attempt it.
Since then, Onana has had many a shaky moment that have either led to goals or could have easily been prevented in the Premier League. He went to ground far too early when Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi ran through on goal and dinked the ball over him to score. He also looked very suspect in the 3-1 defeats to Arsenal and Brighton and was directly at fault for Brentford’s opener in a 2-1 win.
The Champions League is where Onana has really made a name for himself for all of the wrong reasons. His first howler came against Bayern Munich when he spurned a tame Leroy Sane effort into his own goal. The next came against Galatasaray when his shocking pass put Casemiro under pressure and duly conceded a penalty before being sent off.
The following game against Copenhagen, Onana made amends when he saved an injury time penalty to ensure a 1-0 win for United but this is as good as it got for the Cameroonian. Against Galatasaray, a hat-trick of errors saw United twice throw away two-goal leads to leave their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
"What on earth is the Man Utd goalkeeper doing there?!" 😳
André Onana will not want to watch that one back as Hakim Ziyech's set-piece pulls another one back for Galatasaray!#UCL pic.twitter.com/o0R7vzaCdO
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 29, 2023
Andre Onana’s Man United Form
“It’s a terrible mistake and I’m not sure what he’s trying to do. He makes his whole team nervous, he makes simple saves look difficult and even the third goal, I don’t think he should be beaten. He looks like he will concede every time so teams will just say ‘shoot at him,’” Manchester United legend Paul Scholes said after the debacle in Turkey.
It’s hard to disagree with him, Onana on the whole, has looked a lot better in recent weeks but his Champions League displays are a huge cause for concern and manager Erik ten Hag has come out and defended him. Deep down, Ten Hag is surely questioning how much more of it he can take.
Onana has just one clean sheet to his name in Europe’s elite competition and he has picked the ball out of the net 14 times, a record in the competition for the Red Devils in the group stage. The six goals conceded against Galatasaray all have a story of their own, with some calamitous errors proven to be United’s and Onana‘s downfall.
However, Onana has looked a lot more assured in the Premier League in recent weeks, keeping three consecutive clean sheets. He is actually leading in the race for the 2023/24 Premier League Golden Glove award with five shutouts to his name, tied with Newcastle’s Nick Pope and Crystal Palace Palace’s Sam Johnstone.
In terms of analysing Onana’s mistakes, it’s hard to pinpoint why he has been slightly better domestically than in Europe but it’s almost as if he is trying too hard with certain shots and trying to make the save look spectacular. The pressure of being United’s keeper has perhaps got to him so this, alongside him trying to be over zealous in between the sticks, is probably the clearest explanation as to why he has been so catastrophic.
Manchester United have conceded 14 goals in the UCL this season.
The most they've EVER conceded in a single group stage. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/oXKMZvrTtF
— Squawka (@Squawka) November 29, 2023
What Next For Andre Onana And Man Utd?
As mentioned, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag publicly defended Andre Onana after the 3-3 draw against Galatasaray: “It’s not about an individual. It’s always about the team,” he confirmed. From Onana’s point of view, those comments will help soften the blow but he knows he must improve. Quickly.
Ten Hag is now faced with a series of dilemmas. Does he stick with Onana for the weekend? Will he play Onana in the crunch game against Bayern Munich? Is now the right time to introduce Altay Bayındır? What is Onana’s long-term future at Old Trafford? Could he be shipped out on loan in January to help boost his confidence?
Whichever option the Dutchman opts for, he’ll need to vehemently stand by his decision or the spotlight will be directed at himself and if United do crash out of the Champions League and dip off in the Premier League, the fingers of blame will more than likely be pointed in his direction.
The Red Devils take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday so between now and then, Ten Hag and Onana will have a lot of soul searching to do. If, and it’s a very big if, Ten Hag sticks with Onana and another calamitous mistake is made, it’ll surely be time to consider a plan B.
Ahead of the Red Devils visit to the north east, the best UK betting sites make Eddie Howe’s side the match favourites at 19/20, with the draw 14/5 and United at 3/1.
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