Manager Erik ten Hag has come out to defend his number one, André Onana, after the Cameroonian goalkeeper made yet another costly mistake which saw Manchester United go down to 10 men and ultimately lose 3-2 to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday.
United came out of the traps the better team on the night, opening the scoring through Rasmus Højlund and creating a number of other chances in the opening 20 minutes, only for a deflected equaliser from former player Wilfried Zaha to cut their confidence short.
The Red Devils’ disappointing defensive display was a theme throughout and although Højlund did go on to score a second (it could have been a hattrick if not for an impressively composed finish ruled offside), they made it far too easy for the opposition to answer back with an almost immediate counter-punch.
Calamity at the back culminated in Onana’s second major error in the Champions League season as he effectively passed the ball to the opposition, leaving Casemiro with little choice other than to make a last-ditch challenge and receive a second yellow, meaning he will now miss their final group stage game.
While Mauro Icardi missed his penalty, he did go on to score the second equaliser — one which might not have come were it not for United being short a key player. Nevertheless, following fans’ obvious frustration at Onana’s string of errors and calls for him to be dropped, ten Hag is sticking by the signing.
ADVERTISEMENT
🗣️ "We are happy with our goalkeeping group, definitely with Andre."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag discusses goalkeeper Andre Onana following a third home defeat this season 🔴🧤 pic.twitter.com/w59y4JCU3m
ten Hag confirms Onana’s position after a costly mistake against Galatasaray.
As he insisted to multiple outlets after the game, he said: “We are happy with our goalkeeping group, definitely with Andre, and Andre was in one semi-final of the Champions League, last season he was in a final of the Champions League, he has the capabilities to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“He showed that and he will do. We have already seen in games his great capabilities, also his personality after he made a mistake. He will bounce back and I’m sure he will do in the coming games as well.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The Dutchman went on to admit in his post-match press conference that although he believes “last season was brilliant, terrific, more than we could have expected”, he knew “there would be gaps”, adding that, “In this moment, we are in a very difficult period, as everyone can see.”
It wasn’t the only negative record they put up on the night either, as they helped the Turkish visitors to their first-ever competitive win on English soil.
ADVERTISEMENT
First Champions League match win in five years ✅ First Champions League away match win in 17 matches ✅
Although many now believe Onana should be dropped and either one of Tom Heaton or United’s other new signing, Altay Bayindir, given a chance, ten Hag was sure to make it clear that the fault doesn’t just lie with the keeper and that mistakes need to be eliminated all across the pitch.
He also reiterated that there were periods of the game when his team were in control and played “fantastic” and while he understands fans booing at full-time, he assured that both he and the team are just as disappointed but that that “it needs to be [used as] fuel” to turn things around.
“We are fighting together, stick[ing] together, we are behind each other, and that is me, the directors, the team — all together, we will fight. This is not us. We know we have to do better and in the togetherness, we will come out.”
You can watch the highlights of Manchester United’s 3-2 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League down below:
Onana’s mistake against Galatasaray was by no means his first; it wasn’t even his first in the UCL.
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Danny Jones -
4th October 2023 
