Manchester United newcomer Andre Onana did not shy away after his nightmare moment at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Red Devils’ final pre-season friendly was blighted by an embarrassing error from the ex-Inter Milan goalkeeper, which will make Gary Neville’s advice even more important ahead of the new campaign.
After completing a £47million move from Inter last month, Onana played his first minutes for the Red Devils in consecutive pre-season defeats to Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Saturday’s clash with French outfit Lens was the Cameroon international’s first outing at Old Trafford. But things got off to a hellish start, with Onana caught miles off his line and lobbed from the centre circle by Florian Sotoca.
With competitive action just around the corner, Neville has already discussed the perils of being the United goalkeeper. “It’s the single most difficult position in English football,” he told The Overlap back in March.
“The Manchester United goalkeeper comes under more scrutiny if they make a mistake than any other position in English football on the pitch. It’s tough and I’ve seen lads in that goal [struggle]. That’s the problem they’ve got.
“It’s whether [a new goalkeeper] can handle that stadium. I always think a Manchester United goalkeeper – or any goalkeeper – needs to have unbelievable concentration because you might go five minutes without touching the ball.”
Onana is known for being an adventurous goalkeeper, and one that enjoys build-up from the back. Having replaced David de Gea this summer, United fans will be keen to see errors like the one committed on Saturday kept to a minimum over the coming season.
Thankfully for Onana, his mistake did not decide the friendly. Marcus Rashford, Antony and Casemiro each contributed with goals in the second half to give Ten Hag’s side a comfortable 3-1 win.