Manchester United couldn’t make it three wins from three last weekend vs Crystal Palace but the general level of performance left fans optimistic.
The team created enough chances to put the game away in the first half itself but couldn’t do so and the result leaves them in 11th position after five games.
Still, there is far more hope that things will eventually turn around because a style and pattern of play is visible now, with only a final cutting edge missing.
The result didn’t do justice to the performance vs Crystal Palace but one Manchester United star has received his due for his own display in the game by being the sole selection for BBC’s team of the week.
Andre Onana’s ‘excellent’ moment
It has already been covered extensively, but the importance of Andre Onana’s double save vs Crystal Palace can’t be understated.
That moment prevented Palace from completing a smash-and-grab in the second half and the Erik ten Hag raved about the player afterwards.
Peter Schmeichel went as far as to say that Onana is winning points for the team with his displays, with the double save effectively saving United one point.
Troy Deeney agreed with that assessment, selecting the Cameroonian for BBC’s Team of the Week for his ‘top drawer’ performance, even though his implication of Onana being ‘under pressure’ falls a bit flat.
He said: “He made an excellent double save, which I thought was miles better than David Raya’s in the Champions League. Onana is under pressure at Manchester United, but he kept them in a game they probably should have gone on to win. He was top drawer.”
Onana has turned it around
Ten Hag was also quick to call vindication when he praised Onana, saying that is clear to everyone now how good Onana is, so Deeney’s point of the goalkeeper being under pressure is not true anymore.
He faced a testing first season where the team leaked shots for fun so looking through that lens, even his first season wasn’t as bad as advertised.
Constant injuries changed the players in front of him which affected his ball-playing skills, while being kept busy all the time naturally leads to more room for error too.
In fact, over the course of the season, Onana actually conceded less than he would have been expected to, accounting for expected goals, so porous was the United defence.
Therefore, in a more functional team, he was always going to reach world-class levels, the signs of which are clear to see so far this season.
United will hope that he continues this form and builds on the solid platform the team seems to have as he is clearly an untouchable in the Man Utd squad right now.
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