Ruben Amorim defended goalkeeper Andre Onana after two mistakes cost Manchester United in Lyon.
It’s all to play for the Europa League quarter-finals after the first-leg finished Lyon 2-2 Manchester United in France on Thursday night.
The build-up to the game was dominated by headlines about Andre Onana’s pre-match comments, which sparked a fiery reaction from Nemanja Matic. This undoubtedly added to the pressure put on the Cameroon goalkeeper and his mistake gifted Lyon an opening goal when Thiago Almada’s first-half free-kick crept past him.
Luckily for Ruben Amorim, United turned things around and looked set to take a win back to Old Trafford after Leny Yoro’s headed finish on the brink of half-time was followed by Joshua Zirkzee’s goal two minutes from time.
The night got worse for Onana, who made another mistake in stoppage time as Rayan Cherki struck in the final minute of stoppage-time to give Lyon something to fight for in the second leg.
Ruben Amorim defends Andre Onana after costly mistakes
It was a bad night for Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Andre Onana’s performance against Lyon was reminiscent of his poor European performances last season, which led to United’s elimination from the Champions League group stages.
Ruben Amorim chose to defend his goalkeeper after the match, stating that he has made more mistakes this season than Onana.
“If you look at the season I’ve made more mistakes than them during these last games and during these last months,” Amorim told reporters in his post-match press conference.
“There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him, so the most important thing is to be natural and then when the time comes I will choose the best XI to play.
“But I’m really confident in Andre.”
It doesn’t sound like Amorim is planning to make any changes between the sticks for the rest of the season, but he will hope it doesn’t mean United miss out on winning the Europa League.
United have a trip to Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday before their crucial second leg against Lyon.
Andre Onana errors continue
Andre Onana was at fault for both Lyon’s goals in the 2-2 draw just a day after he had been called ‘one of the worst goalkeepers’ in United’s history by Nemanja Matic.
The pressure got to the Cameroonian as Matic had the last laugh in Lyon, however, the tie is still open going into the second leg.
Stats emerged after the game to shine Onana in a negative light.
According to Squawka, no Premier League goalkeeper has made more errors leading to a shot (12) or more errors leading to a goal (8) across all competitions than Onana since the start of last season.
Onana needs to finish the season strongly or there will be more speculation over his future at Old Trafford.
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