Andre Onana did little to hit back at Nemanja Matic’s claims of being one of Manchester United’s worst-ever goalkeepers as a pair of errors helped Lyon to a 2-2 draw in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Onana was embroiled in a war of words with the former Man Utd player in the build-up to the game but compounded the now-Lyon midfielder’s put-down with two errors leading directly to both of Lyon’s goals.
The goalkeeper had seemingly inadvertently begun the very public row ahead of the game by claiming Man Utd were the better of the two sides, before Matic responded during a press conference on Wednesday: “If you are one of the worst ‘keepers in Manchester United history, you need to take care.”
Onana’s first error saw him miss Thiago Almada’s bouncing free-kick before goals from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee – the latter three minutes from time – looked to have taken the heat off the Cameroonian goalkeeper.
But worse was to come. His ninth error leading to a goal in a Man Utd shirt was perhaps his most painful, spilling Georges Mikautadze’s effort at the feet of Rayan Cherki to allow Lyon to level with less than 30 seconds of injury-time left.
It means Man Utd will now have to beat Lyon in the return leg in seven days’ time to progress, but it could have been so different.
Yoro’s first goal for the club, glancing in Manuel Ugarte’s rising effort on the stroke of half-time, was the least they deserved at the interval before substitute Zirkzee provided the perfect response to being dropped with a powerful header from Bruno Fernandes’ cross for what appeared to be the winner.
But after Onana’s latest mistake in an increasingly difficult personal season, the heat will be placed firmly back on the Man Utd No 1 for costing his team a valuable first-leg victory.
Should Onana be dropped after latest blunder?
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After making two mistakes in their draw at Lyon, Mike Phelan debated whether Manchester United need to drop Onana
Speaking after the game, Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim refused to be drawn on whether he would consider dropping Onana for Sunday’s game at Newcastle, live on Sky Sports, on the back of his latest errors.
“It’s important [for Andre Onana] to focus on the next game in the Premier League, then think about the second leg,” he told TNT Sports.
“Against Lyon, when one player makes a mistake, the whole team makes a mistake.”
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Watch Phelan’s reaction to Onana’s first error, which gifted Lyon the lead after 25 minutes
He added, when directly asked whether Onana should be dropped: “We will continue to do the same things. Training, seeing the game, trying to choose the best XI to win every match.”
No 2 Altay Bayindir has impressed in his last three games against Rangers and FCSB in the Europa League, as well as with his double penalty-saving heroics against Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Who should start for Man Utd against Newcastle on Sunday?
But he has spent much of the intervening time out injured and only returned to the bench for the defeat at Nottingham Forest on April 1.
“It’s a decision you have to look at,” said former Man Utd assistant Mike Phelan on Soccer Special. “Is there a No 2 goalkeeper at United capable of taking the role for the rest of the season? You can’t keep covering up those mistakes.”
