“What a Shameful Goal” – Rio Blast Onana after nightmare home debut as Man Utd keeper is lobbed from halfway line

Andre Onana’s debut as Manchester United goalkeeper at Old Trafford was marred by a lob from near the halfway line during a pre-season friendly.

Manchester United’s new goalkeeper Andre Onana’s Old Trafford debut was marred by a lob from just inside his own half against RC Lens.

The Cameroon international was making his debut in front of his home fans during the pre-season match against the French team when he was made to look silly after clawing at thin air to keep out Florian Sotoca’s ambitious effort 23 minutes in.

The long-range strike sent Onana sprawling inside the United goal, putting the Ligue 1 outfit ahead for the rest of the first half. Erik ten Hag pumped up his players for the second half, and goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Casemiro helped keep their goalkeeper clean.

Many opposing supporters have mocked Onana for being caught wide off his line, but the truth is that this is a risk that comes with the 27-year-old’s goalkeeping technique.

The former Ajax and Inter Milan star is every inch a modern goalkeeper, and he is widely acclaimed for his technical prowess with the ball at his feet as well as his willingness to take risks to aid his team, effectively acting as both the first and last line of defense.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has waxed lyrical about it in the past, expressing admiration for Onana’s style of play.

“He’ll give United more confidence and ability to play out from the back, and I think he suits an Erik ten Hag team,” the former Red Devils defender told FIVE. “He’s a true modern goalkeeper.” Teams press on him, and he doesn’t even flinch.

“He gets the ball, brings on the press, says, ‘Come on, come to me,’ and when that player comes to him, he knows there’s a free player somewhere else, and he usually finds them.”

Ferdinand admitted that mistakes would be part of the process for Onana, but what was witnessed against Lens was more of a risk that United faces when playing a goalkeeper of the former Serie A star’s style.