Man Utd’s new goalkeeper Andre Onana came under scrutiny for the first time this weekєɴԀ during the Lens victory.
Andre Onana’s arrival at Manchester United was met with much fanfare from the supporters.
After witnessing David de Gea’s increasingly-erratic performances between the sticks, the time was clearly right for the Reds to part company with their long-term servant. When it came to replacing the Spaniard,Onanaticked all of the boxes.
He already had a good rapport with Erik ten Hag and fit the style whichUnitedwere trying to implement at the Theatre of Dreams. The Cameroonian’s comfort with the ball at his feet is a breath of fresh air and he clearly commands his area.
On Saturday however, Onana succumbed to his first flurry of criticism when a misplaced pass fromDiogo Dalotby the halfway line fell into the path of Florian Sotoca who lobbed the ball over the ‘keeper and into the back of the net. Arguably, the Ƅłɑмє was split between Dalot and Onana.
The misplaced pass was poor and the goal would not have been conceded if Onana was on his line. However, this mistake in isolation is no ɾєɑȿօɴ for United to panic.
In fact,Rio Ferdinandwarned about this exact thing happening when United were first linked with Onana. He explained onVibe with Five: “He’ll give United more confidence and more ability to play out from the back and I think he suits an Erik ten Hag team. He’s a real modern-day goalkeeper. You see teams pressing him and he doesn’t even panic.
“He gets the ball in, brings on the press says: ‘Come on, come to me,’ and when that player comes to him he knows there’s a player free somewhere else and he normally finds them. I think there will be mistakes and playing that risky way you do have mistakes and that happens, but it’s about staying true to your beliefs, finding the right balance and remaining calm thɾօυɢҺout those periods.”
