Miroslav Koubek urged Plzen to target one Man Utd star – it almost worked perfectly

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Manchester United recovered to beat Viktoria Plzen after going 1-0 down in the Czech Republic.

Ruben Amorim must have been incredibly frustrated up until the 62nd minute on Thursday night.

The Manchester United boss watched as his Red Devils failed to break through Plzen’s stubborn defensive line on Thursday evening.

It took United going behind, due to an Andre Onana howler, before Amorim made substitutions which ultimately went on to win the game.

Rasmus Hojlund was the first player Amorim threw on, and the Dane scored twice and broke a Wayne Rooney record. This performance means Hojlund has settled any doubt over who should start up front.

However, it is the other end which has now been the subject of an admission from Miroslav Koubek, which is embarrassing for United.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Man Utd’s head coach – Ruben Amorim

What Miroslav Koubek told his Plzen players about Andre Onana

After the game, Koubek – Viktoria Plzen’s manager – was quizzed over his tactics for the loss to United.

One journalist asked Koubek whether he instructed his players to target Onana – after it was his horrendous mistake on the ball that gifted the home side their goal.

“Yes. That was our tactic, I told them to shoot from every viable opportunity. I’m disappointed with the last shot, maybe we could have resolved it a bit better.

Koubek’s plan almost worked perfectly as his players forced one error from Onana, but failed to trouble the Cameroonian otherwise.

This is embarrassing to hear that managers across Europe are seeing the United goalkeeper as a target rather than a tough task to face. This could suggest a successor should be sought in 2025, despite Onana’s current unsellable status.

• READ MORE: Who is Andre Onana? Delve into the life of Manchester United’s Cameroonian shot-stopper

Manchester United may need a new goalkeeper in 2025

Onana has had a pretty impressive 2024/25 season with plenty of high points, including his miraculous double save which wowed Jose Mourinho.

However, as good as he has been at times, Onana is far too error-prone for United to win a league title.

Due to this, perhaps Amorim will grow weary of the No.25 in the next few months should this continue, in which case he will surely demand an upgrade as at the moment United are only conceding through individual errors rather than being outplayed.

Onana must improve, and he will know this. He does all the hard things right in a United shirt, he just needs to cut out the sloppy and disappointing errors which have begun creeping back into his game lately.