Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, must decide whether to play Andre Onana in the Champions League or not after his recent mistakes.
Arsenal and Bukayo Saka both excelled in a 6-0 thumping of Lens; Newcastle is denied a disputed penalty after putting on a strong show in Paris; Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku emphasize how important they are to Pep Guardiola; Celtic loses in the Champions League once more.
In a different reality, Manchester United is certain to qualify for the Champions League going into their final group match. Andre Onana is not their goalkeeper in that world.
Casemiro seemed to be turning the corner, and it was easy to forget about his error that led to Bayern Munich’s first goal and the careless pass at Old Trafford that resulted in his dismissal against Galatasaray.
However, Onana’s inability to handle two simple free kicks on Wednesday night ensures that the attention is once again focused on him.
His crucial stoppage-time penalty save against FC Copenhagen and the skill he brings to possession for balance are noteworthy. While Onana’s time at Old Trafford hasn’t been entirely awful, his unreliability is making his already vulnerable side seem even more uncertain.
Onana is obviously better than what his performances indicate. All you have to do to see that is reflect on Inter’s run in the Champions League last season. However, there does appear to be a pattern to these errors.
He has committed four more mistakes that have resulted in goals in the Champions League since 2018–19 than any other goalkeeper.
Erik ten Hag insisted that he is to blame for his team’s most recent defeat, despite the fact that the Dutchman must undoubtedly be taking the former Ajax goalkeeper’s position into consideration.
Deputy Altay Bayindir, who joined from Fenerbahce in the summer, will get a chance while Onana is away representing Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations. Ten Hag might have to make a significant choice if he can maintain composure between the sticks.
Manchester United is only six points out of first place in the Premier League after winning six of their previous eight games. They are bottom of Group A in the Champions League, having only won one of their five games. They will need to do something special on the last gameday to advance to the knockout stages.