Farewell Message – Andre Onana message to Harry Maguire as Man Utd’s biggest pre-season problem summed up
Andre Onana may be the new kid on the block, but he isn't afraid to tell his new teammates what he thinks.
Manchester United’s successor for David De Gea, purchased for £43.9 million, is anticipated to offer a passing impact to a team that has frequently struggled to play out from the back. But, in addition to contributing to Erik ten Hag’s style of play, it appears the goalkeeper is holding his teammates accountable.
Onana came on as a half-time substitute for Tom Heaton in the 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund. And he was called into action within three minutes.
Onana was unhappy with his defense for giving such an opportunity after making a fantastic one-on-one stop against Sebastian Haller, getting down low to his left. His rage was directed specifically at Harry Maguire.
The Cameroonian was so enraged by the England international’s error that he ran seven yards to give him a piece of his mind. Maguire didn’t have much of a reaction to his new teammate’s yelling and simply soaked it up.
And the goalkeeper has every reason to complain. Despite the evident lack of a striker, United’s assault has shown promise in preseason. However, the defense has been sloppy, mistake-filled, and haphazard in the previous two games in especially.
Despite the obvious quality of Jude Bellingham’s finish, the Real Madrid star easily sprinted through United’s defense to score the game’s first goal in the previous friendly. And, as good as Joselu’s finish for his team’s second goal was, there was no red defender near him at the back post. And this is in addition to the number of opportunities missed by Onana.
It was a similar story against Dortmund. Despite dominating the first half for 41 minutes, United trailed 2-1 at the intermission. Brandon Williams attempted but failed to stop Karim Adeyemi. The ball made its way to Donyell Malen, who caressed his finish past Heaton.
Dortmund had a second goal less than a minute later. Former United loanee Marcel Sabitzer intercepted Victor Lindelof’s bad pass. The Austrian tracked down Malen, who secured his brace and probably couldn’t believe his good fortune.
Given United’s defensive collapse, it’s safe to assume Ten Hag’s half-time team talk would have centered on his back four. So it’s no surprise that Onana lost his rag when he found himself one-on-one with Haller less than three minutes into the second half.
United now leave the United States, leaving Ten Hag with enough to think about before meeting Lens at Old Trafford. They then face Athletic Bilbao on the road at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin before facing Wolves on the opening day of the season on August 14.
