Onana silences Man Utd critics after Bayern horror show

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 26 Sept 2023 07:40 BST
• 3 min read

Andre Onana went some way to silencing his critics against Burnley following his disastrous performance at Bayern Munich earlier this week.

Onana hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in Germany on Wednesday with a horrific error that led to Bayern’s opening goal.

With the game tied at 0-0, Onana spilled a simple long shot from Leroy Sane over his own line. He went on to concede four goals as Man United fell to a fourth defeat in their opening six games of the season.

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This was not the start that neither United nor Onana expected when he joined from Inter in the summer for €60 million.

Great expectations for Onana

Big things were expected of Onana, who had been one of the best goalkeepers in all of Europe in 2022-23.

He had played a key role in Inter reaching the Champions League final, with a string of brilliant performances on their road to Athens. He also gained the reputation as arguably the best goalkeeper in the world with his feet.

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But, not helped by the chaos on and off the pitch, Onana endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford.

He made a number of errors, and was also blamed for a decisive Declan Rice goal in the 3-1 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates.

The mistake against Bayern on Wednesday led to a barrage of criticism, with some even questioning if United made a mistake signing the 27-year-old in place of the released David de Gea.

Onana bravely came out in front of the media after the Bayern debacle to apologise for his error.

This earned him some credit and certainly demonstrated the character and mentality of the man.

And Onana went some way to winning back the critics with an excellent performance against Burnley on Saturday.

United earned a crucial 1-0 win at Turf Moor thanks to a Bruno Fernandes goal.

But it was Onana who sealed the three points with a superb save from a Zeki Amdouni header.

He made four saves in total and didn’t put a foot wrong in goal.

United fans will be hoping that Onana can build on this performance as Erik ten Hag’s men aim to get their season back on track.