Oh no Onana! Under-fire goalkeeper’s errors prove costly for Manchester United

Andre Onana’s war of words with Nemanja Matic dominated the build-up to Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final trip to Lyon.

United goalkeeper Onana lit the blue touchpaper ahead of the first leg by saying that his side were “way better” than Lyon.

When that was put to Matic by the PA news agency, the former Red Devils midfielder responded by calling Onana “one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United’s history”.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how Onana’s evening panned out in France. (Spoiler: Sometimes it’s better to say nothing at all).

Public enemy numero un

Onana was subject to a hostile reception even before the teams had been confirmed. The goalkeeper, wearing earphones, walked around the pitch, going to touch the posts in one goal and then strolling down to the other goal in front of the Lyon ultras. He faced a wall of abuse, featuring hand gestures aplenty, before heading back towards the tunnel, where Matic was nearby chatting to United fitness coach Charlie Owen. Raucous boos followed and chants greeted Onana when he returned for the warm-up.

A warmer welcome

Things were more cordial as the teams lined up in the tunnel before kick-off, where Onana shared a hug with Lyon defender Nicolas Tagliafico, a former team-mate at Ajax. Opposition goalkeeper Lucas Perri also offered a fist bump. Matic was nowhere to be seen, having been named as a substitute.

Oh no, Onana!

When play got under way, Onana’s first touch was also loudly jeered. The 29-year-old knew he was under the spotlight and it got fiercer when he made a terrible error for Lyon’s first goal, allowing Thiago Almada’s floated free-kick to bounce straight into the net. Leny Yoro equalised in first-half stoppage time, but Onana was centre of attention. A TV cameraman went straight up to him at half-time and tracked him all the way off the field. United assistant Carlos Fernandes was waiting for him by the tunnel.

Jitters at the back

Onana did make one save, a close-range shot from Corentin Tolisso which was fired straight at him. But clearly he was making some of his team-mates nervous; at one point Harry Maguire could have let a diagonal cross run to his keeper but opted to whack the ball into touch instead.

Another Onana error

Onana celebrated wildly when substitute Joshua Zirkzee put United ahead three minutes from time, punching the ground in delight and putting both arms in the air, looking as relieved as he was delighted. But in the final minute of stoppage time the keeper made another error, failing to hold a shot from Georges Mikautadze leaving Rayan Cherki to snatch a 2-2 draw for Lyon.

‘Ferme ta bouche’

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, a pundit for TNT Sports, was scathing of Onana’s role in the first goal. “He’s probably wishing he’d kept his mouth shut,” said Scholes. “It’s a really bad mistake. The ball bounces in front of him and it’s an awful mistake.”