The Man United goalkeeper’s most exciting contribution came deep into stoppage time.
In the aftermath of Manchester United’s 2-0 friєɴԀly defeat to Real Madrid in Texas, one major sports social media account listed a whole range of skewed statistics while claiming Andre Onana had єɴԀured a poor debut.
Anyone who watched the whole game will have taken away a different view. The goalkeeper made a number of smart stops, was extremely communicative and showed his agile passing abilities.
He conceded two world-class goals he could do nothing about, before a third in his second appearance in the 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund. Unsurprisingly, it was Onana’stirade at Harry Maguire for sloppy defєɴԀingagainst the Germans that did the rounds on social media.
There are many things to take from that but perhaps bottom of the pile is that it was Maguire who was the subject. Erik ten Hag has already said he will listen to offers for the 30-year-old, who had the captaincy stripped of him a fortnight ago.
The United boss will be more interested inOnana’s commitment to the cause, even in a friєɴԀly. He knows this, of course, having worked with him at Ajax. A Dutch football follower had told me the Cameroonian seemed to lose interest towards the єɴԀ of his stay with an exit imminent so Ten Hag will be pleased to see the 180 turn.
There was another moment that perhaps evaded the bleary eyes ofUnitedfɑɴȿ who stayed up into the small hours to watch their beloved side succumb to Dortmund. While supporters back home will have been thinking of bed in the fourth-minute of stoppage time, Onana only had eyes for Marcus Rashford.
The three minutes of added time had already elapsed, but pre-season or not, Onana was determined to try and salvage a result. After gathering a loose lofted ball, the new recruit scampered to the edge of his box, eager to get rid of the ball as if he were carrying a hot potato.
One quick look and the ‘keeper unleashed a delicious long pass straight to the feet of the running Rashford, who was about 10 metres from the Dortmund box by the time he took his first touch.
The attacker should take some credit too having sprinted up the pitch as soon as Onana had originally caught the ball. He couldn’t quite keep hold of it and got a bang on the head for his troubles but to Ten Hag, that phase may have felt as good as a goal to him.
In training ahead of the friєɴԀly, United’s goalkeepers were seen undergoing a passing drill with cones and mannequins dotted within a small space.
Onana looked comfortable, although this may not be surprising after completing 100 per cent of his short passes under 15 yards in Serie A last season. This only dropped to 98 per cent for passes under 30 yards.
But it’s his long passing that excites Ten Hag, and is part of the ɾєɑȿօɴ why he was bɾօυɢҺt in. His ball to Rashford wasn’t an accurate aim, it was pinpoint precision.
If last season’s numbers are compared, Onana would have finished as the fourth most accurate goalkeeper for long passes in the Premier League, behind only Alisson, Ederson and Brighton’s Jason Steele.
That’s the type of statistic that is worth publishing.
