Ruben Amorim insisted it is business as usual despite Andre Onana’s blunders in Lyon draw.
- Man Utd held to a 2-2 draw
- Onana had an evening to forget
- Amorim put his weight behind the cornered keeper
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Cameroonian shot-stopper was at fault for both of Lyon’s goals in the first leg, as United were held to a 2-2 draw in France. Onana misjudged a 25th-minute free-kick from Thiago Almada, allowing the ball to bounce straight into the net. His evening worsened in stoppage time when he failed to deal convincingly with a shot, palming the ball into the path of Rayan Cherki, who pounced to level the score.
DID YOU KNOW?
United had initially taken the lead late in the game through Joshua Zirkzee’s header in the 87th minute. Whereas, earlier in first half stoppage time, Leny Yoro had brought the English side level to set up a thrilling second half.
WHAT AMORIM SAID
Despite the goalkeeper’s errors, Amorim remained composed when asked about how he would handle the situation and whether he would have a chat with Onana.
“Nothing,” the United head coach replied. “We have training, go with [Jorge] Vital [goalkeeping coach] and we deal with that – really natural. That can happen with any player. There’s nothing I can say to André in this moment that will help.”
Amorim emphasized that Onana remains part of his plans and brushed off suggestions that the goalkeeper should be immediately dropped.
“The most important thing is to be natural and then, when the time comes, I will choose the best XI to play. But I’m really confident in André,” he said.
“It can happen, if you play football, you play a lot of games, you can make mistakes. If you look at the season, I make more mistakes than them during these last games and these last months.”
The scrutiny on Onana intensified after it emerged he had clashed with former United midfielder Nemanja Matic in the build-up to the game. Matic had publicly criticized the keeper, calling him one of the club’s worst ever. Onana fired back, pointing to the trophies he has lifted since joining United — something Matic did not achieve during his time at Old Trafford.
Amorim was asked if the off-field spat may have unsettled Onana before kick-off. He said: “I don’t know, that can happen. The best thing is to look at the goals, all the actions that André had in the game, talk with Vital – this is the best way to help any player, it’s to focus on the game, what happened, what we need to improve and then put the player in. I didn’t see him [after the game], to be honest with you. I use these minutes to try to calm down, to come here to say the right things.”
WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?
Onana has made more mistakes leading to goals – eight in total – than any other Premier League goalkeeper since the beginning of last season. The statistics paint a damning picture, but Amorim has so far resisted calls to drop his No.1. However, with United harbouring hopes of European glory, Amorim must now weigh the risks of persisting with Onana as Altay Bayındır keeps waiting in the wings.
