André Onana has had a rocky start to life at Manchester United and while supporters have been left swearing from the stands and at their TV screens several times already this season, his reaction at full-time following his latest howler has seen much of that frustration turn to sympathy.
The Cameroonian goalkeeper made yet another costly error on Wednesday night when his lack of concentration saw Man United’s 2-0 lead, thanks to two very fine finishes from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes, somehow turn to 3-1 and eventually 3-3 — two of which were very preventable.
Onana was left unsighted by the wall and wrong-footed for the first goal which was whipped in from a Hakim Ziyech free-kick, but was left blushing even more when an almost identical delivery was fired at him in the second half, only to effectively push it into his own net and reduce the Red Devil’s two-goal cushion to one.
As commentator Darren Fletcher and pretty much everyone watching said at the time, “What on Earth is the Manchester United keeper doing there?!”. It really doesn’t make for great viewing…
Having now allowed the Turkish side to get back into the game in a similarly avoidable turnaround as in the reverse leg at Old Trafford, when the 27-year-old’s misplaced pass out from the back resulted in Casemiro getting sent off in a last-ditch tackle and United conceding a third after going down to 10 men.
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Although mistakes like these could be forgiven in isolation, as one-offs or more widely spread out over a longer period of — many Reds had grown accustomed to watching their previous number one, David de Gea, making a gaffe or two in his time — for all of them to happen in the space of just a few months doesn’t help.
In the Champions League alone, Onana has seven individual unforced errors leading to goals (four more than any other player) and in a knockout competition against the best teams in Europe, you simply don’t have enough games to make up for mistakes like that.
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That being said, as opposed to the usual reaction from supporters on social media that we have seen so far this season, a large proportion of fans and neutrals alike weren’t berating him but were instead expressing their sympathy — especially after seeing Onana‘s visibly upset reaction after full-time:
On the other hand, not everyone was so forgiving and to further sum up how things are going for the United keeper, both in terms of his bad luck and the pity plenty are now starting to feel for him, there were countless posts online dubbing him “the new [Harry] Maguire”, who had previously been a scapegoat and a target of abuse at both club and international level.
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In contrast, while the England centre-backs’s performances have started to improve, a goalkeeper’s mistakes are always going to be even more highlighted as although defenders usually have the man between the sticks as a last stand, when it goes wrong it usually results in conceding a goal.
Ex-Man United man Louis Saha says Old Trafford’s deterioration shows a ‘lack of respect’ for the fans
Danny Jones
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has come to claim that the deterioration of Old Trafford is disrespectful to the fans.
The retired French forward, who represented the club 120 times and scored 42 goals during his time at the club between 2004-08, has come to the defence of the Man United faithful, insisting that the stadium is simply no longer up to the standard.
Speaking to Paddy Power earlier this week, the Red Devils old number nine said, “The state of Old Trafford shows a lack of respect to the supporters. They pay for tickets, create the atmosphere, and they need to have a better experience.
“The images of the roof leaking are ridiculous for those who are proud of the club, it’s unacceptable. It’s a bad sign that the investment has not been made in the right place at the right time.” In case you missed it, the Theatre of Dreams looked more like some kind of drowning nightmare after last week’s flooding.
“I’ve heard Gary Neville complain about it many times, and he’s been warning the club about it for a while”, Saha continued. “For it to get to that point, it was really embarrassing.
Flooding was just spotted in the stands but there were various reports and clips posted on social media showing interior leaks, including in the away dressing room.
The 45-year-old went on to say: “It’s symbolic, but it means a lot. For a fan that has paid so much for their membership and ticket, they haven’t been respected. It needs to be addressed – fans should not be seeing this.”
Fans have been complaining about various problems with Old Trafford‘s infrastructure for years now as despite being one of the most valuable football clubs in the world, Man United’s home ground and various other facilities are widely considered to be pretty outdated.
New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already intimated that he would rather build an entirely new stadium than renovate Old Trafford, especially since it has been estimated that it would cost more to repair and redevelop the existing structure than it would start from scratch.
There have also been plenty of mock-ups as to what a ‘New Trafford’ might look like should the prospective plans be greenlit. Mayor Andy Burham has already been appointed as part of the new stadium ‘taskforce’ and says it could prove to be the biggest regeneration scheme in the country.
Be it giving the iconic football stadium some much-needed TLC or providing the fans with an entirely new one, it’s fair to say the club can’t expect to return to their glory days by allowing Old Trafford to continue deteriorating and letting its legacy slip into squalor.
Featured Images — Web Summit (via Flickr)/Wikimedia Commons/The Manc Group
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Man City confirm Ederson will miss rest of the season following fractured eye socket
Danny Jones
Manchester City have revealed that goalkeeper Ederson will miss the final two games of the season after suffering a fractured eye socket following a hefty collision earlier this week.
City’s second-choice keeper Stefan Ortega was forced to come on and produce some heroics against Tottenham on Tuesday night after Ederson was on the receiving end of a forceful challenge from centre-back Cristian Romero, ultimately being hooked off despite trying to play on for a few more minutes.
The Brazilian number one was left visibly upset by the decision, thrashing his seat on the bench and planting his head in his hands following the understandably cautious substitution, but it proved to be the right move the club has now confirmed a bone-break around his eye.
With manager Pep Guardiola having already to press after the game that Ederson has a “problem with his eye” and “could not see” properly, the club have now confirmed that he will now be out for the rest of the season.
As detailed in the update, scans revealed a “small fracture” of his right eye socket and being struck by the leg and hip of the Spurs defender.
It was clear that all was not well in the immediate aftermath of the two players clashing as the 30-year-old was left lying on the floor for some time and medical staff were rushed over.
Although concussion was ultimately ruled out and only the fracture has been confirmed, Ederson did go on to slip with his first kick of the ball and was seen shaking his head as if to shrug off the impact in the following moments.
He was also pictured with a very noticeable black eye following the full-time whistle.
This obviously means that in addition to missing Man City’s last Premier League game of the season against West Ham this weekend, where they might very well lift their fourth consecutive title, he will also miss the FA Cup final against Man United.
With it being just the second Manchester derby cup final in history, a second in a row as it happens, he, the team and the fans will obviously be gutted to be without their go-to shot-stopper.
Nevertheless, it’s a relief to see his safety being prioritised not only during the same on Tuesday night but in the days since and if there’s one thing it proved it’s that Ortega is more than capable of filling in for him when needed.
As any fan would following a scary injury like that, we join the club in wishing him a speedy recovery.