Andre Onana’s errors proved costly as Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, with manager Ruben Amorim admitting he has made more mistakes this season than his embattled goalkeeper.
Under increasing scrutiny, Andre Onana was directly involved in both goals conceded during Manchester United’s first-leg draw at Groupama Stadium.
The goalkeeper struggled with Thiago Almada’s first-half free-kick, failing to apply a strong hand to a ball that skidded off the turf and through his gloves.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Onana spilled a shot from Georges Mikautadze, allowing Rayan Cherki to equalise on the rebound.
Onana’s performance came just a day after former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic labelled him “one of the worst goalkeepers” in the club’s history. The criticism was made in response to Onana’s own claim that United were “way better” than their French opponents.
Matic, now at Lyon, did not feature in the match but watched as the United goalkeeper endured another turbulent evening.
Since joining United, Onana has made eight errors leading to goals across all competitions—the most by any Premier League goalkeeper during that span. Despite the mounting pressure, manager Ruben Amorim offered his support after the match.
“If you look at the season, I’ve made more mistakes than them during these last games and during these last months,” Amorim said. “There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him.”
When asked whether he retained faith in the Cameroon international, Amorim remained steadfast. “We continue to do the same thing—training, seeing the games, trying to choose the best eleven to win every match.”
Despite his errors, Onana has statistically ranked second in Opta’s goals prevented metric since his arrival—trailing only Everton’s Jordan Pickford. However, he also holds the worst minutes-per-goal-conceded ratio of any Manchester United goalkeeper with at least 10 Premier League appearances.
The draw leaves the Europa League tie finely balanced ahead of next Thursday’s second leg at Old Trafford. With United languishing in 13th place in the Premier League, the Europa League may represent their best route to Champions League football next season.
Amorim acknowledged his side should have taken a lead back to Manchester but refused to single out Onana. “When one player has a mistake, all the team has a mistake,” he said. “So we continue like that.”
