Onana had to be faultless in Lyon. He was at fault for both goals. He appealed against Rayan Cherki’s 95th-minute equaliser but he was wasting his time. He spilt a straight shot straight into Cherki’s path. Nobody was offside.
Altay Bayindir, the United back-up goalie, patted Onana in the centre circle as the players and staff gathered. Onana has not backed up his words in person and online.
Onana was statuesque as players consoled him before he put his hands to his head. Nobody embraced him tightly. Some seemed reluctant. Onana has committed nine errors now in United colours. That statistic seems generous. Several have come in Europe.
No player was more costly when United were ejected from the Champions League at the group stage last season. Onana’s first error on this occasion looked like it would not be as costly as those in Munich and Istanbul. His second may yet be costly.
Onana promised during pre-season he would “take risks”. Declaring United “way better” than Lyon and baiting Nemanja Matic over his five trophyless years at the club on social media were certainly risks. They backfired.
Ruben Amorim wants a new goalkeeper in the summer and it would be negligent of United not to recruit one. Whatever the budget or mitigation, they need a credible challenger for Onana, at the very least. Many United fans would demand an absolute replacement.
Thiago Almada’s first-half free kick bamboozled Onana, just as Ipswich winger Jaden Philogene’s cross had in February. The ball went all the way through and Onana failed to anticipate that nobody would get a touch. He gloved the ball faintly.
Onana and Matic were yards apart an hour-and-a-half before kick-off. A lone Onana strode out onto the pitch as hundreds of the Lyon ultras barracked him. Matic shot the breeze with the United fitness coach Charlie Owen. Onana was only a few feet away when he strode off and there was no acknowledgement between him and Matic. They were closer in the tunnel before kick-off and still neither player blinked.
The broadcasters ramped up the soap opera, with a camera fixed on each player. How anticlimactic that Matic was named as a substitute. Onana was booed whenever he touched the ball and subjected to an unkind and indiscernible chant. Matic may muse that his work was done at the pre-match press conference.
United would have been good value for a victory. One-all was enough in San Sebastian and United will still back themselves to see off Lyon at Old Trafford next Thursday. Their conversion rate is not as disconcerting as their goalkeeper’s handling.
‘Leny the lion’ is unlikely to catch on. With Rasmus Hojlund struggling for a goal, Leny Yoro got his first for United. His reactionary header evoked memories of Carlos Tevez at Ewood Park or Edinson Cavani at St Mary’s. Proper striker’s finishes. It took a striker’s finish from a defender to salvage the first half for United.
Joshua Zirkzee, a purported goalscorer, got on the scoresheet. Two United players rushed to embrace the provider, Bruno Fernandes, in the 88th minute. Kobbie Mainoo, on his first appearance in two months, played a pivotal role with his knockdown. Victory was in sight.
Amorim was agonising over United’s shape as the clock ticked towards the final 15 minutes yet United are indubitably organised and structured at this level. Patrick Dorgu, the first senior signing under Amorim, has created four clear goalscoring opportunities in the past three fixtures. None of them were taken.
Yoro was a quiet success of United’s goalless week against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. It has taken his contribution at the opposite end for wider recognition. Yoro’s header was the final touch of the first half. As was Cherki’s in the second.
Yoro still barely celebrated. He raced back so quickly towards his own half you had to double-check that he had got the goal. That mentality chimes with what United supporters demand from their players.
The equaliser caused some tumult in the segregation between the home and away supporters. The United supporters broke into a rendition of ‘Stretford End arising’ and they went through other hymns from their songbook during the interval. The mood changed markedly with Yoro diverting Manuel Ugarte’s speculative shot into the side of the net.
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