Onana repeatedly "slaps" herself

LYON, FRIDAY - Onana has proven himself why he deserves to be called the worst goalkeeper in Manchester United's history. His two fatal mistakes caused MU to fail to secure a victory at Olympique Lyon's home ground. In fact, that victory was already within reach for the "Red Devils."

MU only needed to hold out for less than a minute to bring home the victory from Lyon's headquarters, Groupama Stadium, on Friday (11/4/2025) early morning WIB. However, they were conceded because of a goal from the home team's player Rayan Cherki in the last minute of injury time. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Onana became the "scapegoat" for the anticlimactic result in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals. The goal began with a low shot from Georges Mikautadze aimed directly at the goalkeeper. Onana managed to anticipate it, but the ball slipped from his hands. The ball then fell to Cherki's feet.

In the first half, Onana was also the reason MU fell behind initially. He failed to anticipate a free kick that bounced right in front of his face. The ball appeared slow and could have been intercepted, but the 29-year-old goalkeeper hesitated due to the movements of opposing players in the penalty box.

“You would be furious [if you were Onana’s team-mate],” former England international Aaron Lennon told BBC Sport. “They were two massive mistakes. I think he had to save both of those shots. He made the headlines before and after the game.”

Onana once stated before the match that MU was far better than Lyon. That opinion heated up the atmosphere. Nemanja Matic, Lyon's veteran midfielder and a former MU player, did not take it well. Matic fired back at the goalkeeper who has been with the "Red Devils" for two seasons.

According to Matic, Onana's opinion is completely inappropriate. "If you are the worst goalkeeper in MU's history, you should be careful (with your words). If David de Gea, Peter Schmeichel, or Edwin van der Sar said such things, I would certainly question myself. He needs to prove something first before speaking," Matic asserted.

Matic's statement was proven by Onana himself. The Cameroonian goalkeeper's mistakes are worrying because they happen repeatedly. Since last season, according to Opta, no goalkeeper in the Premier League has made more blunders and conceded goals in all competitions than Onana (8 goals).

Head Coach of MU, Ruben Amorin, expressed deep disappointment for not being able to bring home an advantage to Old Trafford Stadium for the second leg later. However, he refused to blame Onana for the incident involving the two goals scored by the home team. For him, they must share both joy and sorrow together.

"It's important to focus on the next game in the Premier League and then think about the second game against Lyon. When one player makes a mistake, the whole team is responsible for it. So we will continue like that," Amorim said.

The question mark on Onana is getting bigger. Is it time for him to be benched by Amorim? MU still has a backup goalkeeper who is a Turkish national team player, Altay Bayindir. Bayindir has appeared in the FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League this season.

One of Bayindir's appearances even stole the attention, when MU eliminated Arsenal in the FA Cup. Bayindir managed to bring the "Red Devils" who played with ten players to the penalty round. Then, he became the hero in the penalty shootout.

Onana, a Champions League finalist with Inter Milan, is capable of playing very solidly when he is confident. However, he has often performed inconsistently at MU due to the burden of excessive expectations. Opta statistics can show the goalkeeper's performance is still below standard.

Onana does have the highest average number of saves, 3.4 times per 90 minutes, compared to United goalkeepers over the last 20 years with at least 900 minutes of league appearances. However, his save percentage is the second lowest (70.1 percent), behind Dean Henderson (76.5 percent).

Meanwhile, Onana also has the status of MU goalkeeper with the fastest average goal conceded (every 63 minutes) compared to other goalkeepers who have at least more than 10 appearances in the league. He is far below De Gea (84 minutes), Peter Schmeichel (106 minutes), and Van der Sar (117 minutes).

Of course, the comparison cannot be taken at face value. All the goalkeepers played in different eras. The majority were in the glory days of the “Red Devils”. Meanwhile, Onana was in a transition period of changing coaches from Erik ten Hag to Amorim.

Amorim, regarding the goalkeeper change, did not want to be too reactive in making a decision. He seemed to want to maintain harmony in the team. "We will do the same thing. Practice, monitor the match, and choose the best eleven players to win the match," he concluded. (AP/REUTERS)